RFU dossier says Jones role should change
‘Secret’ report suggests director of rugby post Blackett drew up study after player-injury row
A secret report into the future of English rugby by one of the leading figures in the game called for Eddie Jones and future England head coaches to be answerable to a director of rugby at the Rugby Football Union as part of an overhaul of the coaching structure.
The report, which was shared with only a handful of key figures in the professional game, recommended that the change – Jones has always reported directly to the chief executive – should have taken effect by the start of this season.
Written by Jeff Blackett when he stepped down as chairman of the Professional Game Board in June, the document – sections of which have been seen by The Daily Telegraph – recommended considering changes to how the performance of the England head coach is reviewed, as part of a bid to improve the success of the national team and workings of the organisation.
Blackett, the former chief disciplinary officer and chairman of governance at the RFU, was also a member of the governing body’s board when he compiled the report before standing down to become junior vice president of the union.
One of his key recommendations was: “The RFU CEO (and RFU board) delegates management of the head coach to the director of professional rugby with effect from the beginning of season 2018/19. Further, they consider whether changes to the management structure around the head coach and the way his performance is reviewed are appropriate for the future.”
Blackett had opened his report with the statement: “These are my own personal reflections, they are highly confidential and I do not want this document passed on.”
The report, sent to the boards of the RFU and Premiership Rugby for consideration over the summer, was written in the aftermath of the row between Jones and Bath owner Bruce Craig over the number of injuries players had picked up when in England camp, the fifth-place finish in the Six Nations and the 2-1 tour defeat by South Africa.
There was also an overspend for the budget allocated for the England team last season just as the RFU began implementing cost-cutting measures that led to more than 60 staff members losing their jobs.
However, Blackett’s analysis appears not just to be about ensuring the England head coach is held to account by a person with rugby experience but also to provide a “sounding board” and improve continuity of the coaching structure.
It is not thought that Blackett received an official response to his recommendations and the RFU insisted yesterday that Jones would continue to report directly to the governing body’s chief executive, Steve Brown.
“When he stood down as chairman of the Professional Game Board, Jeff Blackett provided some personal views on many areas of rugby,” said an RFU spokesman. “The comment about a future reporting line of the England head coach was one of these personal reflections. It is not the view of the RFU board, and Eddie’s reporting line to the RFU chief executive officer will not change. Eddie has the full support of the RFU board.”
It is understood, however, that when Jones steps down, either after the World Cup or in 2021 when his contract extension expires, the RFU is expected to review the structure.
That would require enhancing the remit of the RFU’S current director of professional rugby, Nigel Mel- ville, whose key responsibilities include managing the relationship with Premiership Rugby, the English qualified player scheme, the elite player squad agreement with the clubs and the academy system.
The line of command in the professional coaching structure has been a long-standing source of contention at the RFU and was the catalyst for the internecine battles in 2011 when former chief executive John Steele was sacked after just nine months in the job.
Steele was widely criticised after the job description for the performance director’s role was changed twice in as many days, which led to England’s only World Cup-winning coach, Sir Clive Woodward, turning his back on the position. England head coaches have effectively reported directly to the chief executive ever since.