England give Jones vote of confidence
Eddie Jones has been assured that his position as England head coach remains secure until the 2019 World Cup even if the team continues their downward spiral.
Rugby Football Union chief executive Steve Brown has given Jones the vote of confidence despite a run of three successive defeats in the NatWest 6 Nations that resulted in a dismal fifth-place finish.
It was England’s worst performance in the competition since 1987 and saw them replaced by Grand Slam-winning Ireland in second in the global rankings.
Sir Clive Woodward and Warren Gatland have warned of the possible extension of the losing run, given a tour to South Africa looms in June followed by Tests against the Springboks and New Zealand in the autumn. But Brown insists Jones retains his full backing and takes comfort in the Australian’s overall win percentage of 86 per cent. Asked if the RFU are committed to Jones, Brown replied: “That’s always been our plan. We have to be. “You wouldn’t want to think about that run of results, but I’m confident we will recover at some point. Ultimately the goal is to have stability and consistency through until the World Cup.
“We are going to have to manage the results as we go, but the plan is to get them back to where they were.
“Eddie and his coaches have my confidence and the measure of how good they are and can be will be how they respond to these tough times.
“We wanted to do significantly better and we didn’t.
“We’re disappointed with the decline, no question about that. Nobody would want to go from winning the Six Nations to fifth.
“It’s worth reflecting that Eddie has an 86 per cent win record with England. You don’t become a bad coach or team overnight. But we have to learn and have to improve.”
Concern has been raised over Jones’s autocratic style and the lack of a performance director to challenge him, but Brown insists he is held to account: “The first person that puts Eddie straight is Eddie. Eddie is self-critical, challenges himself and that’s something I’ve seen in the seven months I’ve been his boss.”