Marmate BUT TINDALL BACKS JONES
TOPFLIGHT English club rugby is expected to be suspended tomorrow – despite RFU bosses saying the sport should carry on. Premiership Rugby were forced to postpone today’s cup final between Sale and Quins after a member of Quins’ staff reported ‘flu-like’ symptoms. That is set to trigger a decision to halt the Premiership for four weeks.
MIKE TINDALL reckons the RFU need to keep “Marmite” Eddie Jones on their coaching menu – because they have failed to line up an obvious successor.
He believes a lack of planning by Twickenham bosses, in failing to ensure a new man was in place as soon as the World Cup was finished, means the Australian is now likely to be kept on.
Jones, whose current deal ends in 18 months, will meet RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney “for dinner” shortly with the likelihood he will be offered the chance to continue to lead England until France 2023. Three successive wins in the Six Nations, following a disappointing loss in Paris, have put him in a strong position to renegotiate his future.
Missing out on the Lions to Warren Gatland has also changed his future plans as he now hopes to make England “the greatest team ever”. And Tindall believes the lack of an automatic replacement for the man people either love or hate means Jones will get the nod to carry on.
The former forward said: “Eddie is Marmite, isn’t he? He isn’t to everyone’s taste but he is obviously brilliant at what he does. “People really like him and find his quotes funny when England win but then they don’t think he is so funny when the team loses and he suddenly becomes hard to deal with.
“Personally, at the moment, I would like Eddie to stay on.
“Take into account they lost seven on the bounce he’s had a pretty astonishing rise with England. He got the World Cup Final wrong but other than that his record is outstanding.
“The problem is England wanted to plan a successor when they appointed him.
“He was a four-year appointment up to Japan and the RFU have not actually planned properly. To me there are no other options.”
Gatland, South Africa’s Rassie Erasmus plus Saracens’ Mark McCall and Exeter’s Rob Baxter could be on a potential shortlist if Jones goes.
But Tindall, 41, said: “Rob Baxter says he doesn’t really want it, so where do they go next? Give Eddie until the next World Cup? But they also have to work out where they want to go with this team.
“We have a special group of players at the moment. Yes, we lost the World Cup Final but we were the best team in that tournament and got the ending wrong. They should have able to go to the next tournament in France and actually
dominate it.”