Brown out to spread the gospel On yer bike, England!

RUGBY UNIONChief RFU agree to lose £10m Twickenham pay-day so Jones & Co can head north

EDDIE JONES has been given the green light to take England on the road as part of their preparation for next year’s World Cup in Japan. Following the debacle of the Six Nations, in which England finished fifth, RFU bosses have sanctioned the move – even though it will hit them hard in the wallet. Chief executive Steve Brown has revealed r plans for Jones’ team to play at least once away from Twickenham ahead of next year’s World Cup.

Spread

England plan to have three or four warm-up w games before Japan 2019. And at least one of them will be outside London as the union strive to spread the rugby word. Frontrunners to host the game include Manchester United’s Old Trafford, Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium and St James’ Park – the home of Newcastle United. The Etihad and St James’ both staged games in the 2015 World Cup, which Brown helped to organise, with England attracting 50,778 fans for a dead match against Uruguay in Manchester.

The RFU trousers more than £10million for every Twickers Test, with 82,000 spectators, and would have to take a financial knock if they played elsewhere.

But Brown (right) insists it t is about spreading the rugby y gospel and not about filling the tills at Twickenham.

He said: “The game needs to go to a different part of the country. We have to look at it as s i nvestment and, like any ny investment, it has to return.

“It is not just about making money – it is about fans, participation and engaging with new audiences and that is clearly laid out in our plans.

“We want to engage with the new generation of rugby fans as they come through.

“Some of the cities, particularly Manchester, are very interested in having more rugby union. Newcastle are very keen as well.”

Apart from that game at the Etihad in 2015, England played Argentina at Old Trafford in 2009 but that was technically a Pumas home game.

In 1998 they played a couple of World Cup qualifiers, against Italy and Holland, in Huddersfield and hosted the All Blacks at Old Trafford in 1997.

Brown added: “We have had one-offs and they have been very successful.

“We also have a fixed audience here that pays to be in Twickenham too, so we have h to be careful to balance that. th We have to take care of the current c customers while encouraging new people to come.”

Cosh

Brown B and head coach Jones are under the cosh after England’s worst Six Nations since 1983.

England’s strength in depth has been under the microscope as players have struggled to make the leap from Premiership to Test rugby.

The Saxons – effectively England A – used to have fixtures but have not played since a two-game tour to South Africa in 2016.

Exeter pair Don Armand and Alec Hepburn, who both played in this Six Nations, were on that trip. And Brown is keen to resurrect the team.