Aussies eye Eddie

ENGLAND have issued a ‘hands-off’ warning to the Wallabies after Australian rugby union bosses confirmed their interest in bringing Eddie Jones home after next year’s World Cup.

Jones is on a shortlist to succeed Michael Cheika, who has indicated he will stand down as Australia coach if the Wallabies do not win the tournament.

There would undoubtedly be an emotional pull for Jones.

During his previous stint in charge of the Wallabies, he took them to the 2003 World Cup final before losing to England.

Hurdle

But the RFU are adamant they can hold on to their head coach, dismissing the bid for Jones as “pure speculation”.

“He has signed a contract with England to 2021,” said an RFU spokeswoman yesterday.

Jones’ recent contract extension is a hurdle but the RFU bought Jones out of his deal with the Stormers in 2015 to bring him to Twickenham.

The financial constraints on the ARU are much more severe but Rugby Australia high performance manager Ben Whitaker confirmed Jones

(right) will be a target. He said: “If I’m tasked with pulling together a list of potential candidates, is Eddie Jones on there? Yeah, he is – quite obviously.

“I worked here with Eddie in 2003-05 – not that that makes any difference – but you appreciate his skills as a head coach.”

A second shot at coaching the Wallabies, after Jones’ previous spell ended with the sack in 2005, would be tempting for the 58-year-old, whose mother and daughter still live in Australia.

The ARU’s chief executive Raelene Castle would prefer an Australian but a major sticking point could be the 2021 Lions tour to South Africa.

Jones has had an escape clause inserted in his England contract for the position if it is offered to him.