Waiting game RFU delay means it could miss out on Gatland as England coach
Plans for Jones successor delayed until after Japan Six Nations relegation would be ‘catastrophic’
The Rugby Football Union risks missing out on securing the services of Warren Gatland to succeed Eddie Jones as England head coach, after the governing body admitted an appointment will not be made before the World Cup in Japan this year.
The Daily Telegraph revealed in February that Gatland had emerged as the front runner to succeed Jones, with sources describing him as the “outstanding candidate”.
The New Zealander has since gone on to win a record third Grand Slam with Wales, increasing calls from former players and supporters for the RFU to move to recruit the 55-year-old, who is due to step down from his post in December.
The RFU had signalled its intention for a smooth transition plan when Steve Brown, the former chief executive, announced a two-year extension to Jones’s contract in January last year to avoid the kind of large-scale overhauls that followed the 2007, 2011 and 2015 World Cups. It was proposed that the new man would work alongside Jones.
Following Brown’s resignation last November, however, that plan appears to have stalled, with interim chief executive Nigel Melville admitting yesterday the original plan to announce the appointment of Jones’s successor before the World Cup had been pushed back.
The situation is further complicated by uncertainty about when Bill Sweeney, Brown’s successor, can secure his departure from the British Olympic Association to start at Twickenham.
Gatland is now attracting interest from the French Federation and has had informal discussions with the British and Irish Lions about returning as head coach for the tour of South Africa in 2021, so he could be offered a new position before the RFU decides to act.
Melville insisted, however, that Gatland’s availability is not a concern. “The Warren thing – is Warren going to do the Lions? Is Warren going to France? Is Warren coming to England? Is Warren doing all sorts? At this point, that is not a concern to me,” Melville said. “The concern to me is what we are doing going forward.
“There’s more than one coach out there who we are looking at. I took Warren to Wasps, so I’m well aware of his talent. I do speak to Warren. I absolutely understand he’s a very talented guy and has a fantastic resume.
“We will decide what is happening with Eddie postworld Cup. We have got a list of people who we think could take over. It’s a small list because there aren’t lots of coaches out there who are capable of coaching England.”
Wales and Ireland have already completed their postworld Cup succession plan, with Wayne Pivac, the Scarlets head coach, to take over from Gatland, while Andy Farrell, a target for the RFU last summer, is in line to succeed Joe Schmidt as Ireland head coach.
That ambition, however, appears to be beyond the RFU. “We have pushed it back because we don’t want distractions pre-world Cup,” Melville said. “It’s to let Eddie get on with it and to stop people speculating on who is in and who is out, and all the rest of it. We don’t need that, I don’t think anybody needs that and the incoming coaches don’t need that.”
Melville insisted a plan was in place to replace Jones if he did depart after the World Cup, opening up the possibility of a senior member of Jones’s coaching team, such as John Mitchell, taking charge, while experienced Premiership coaches Dean Ryan and Jim Mallinder are also on the RFU payroll.
“We’ll be absolutely ready,” Melville said. “But as far as I am concerned, Eddie is through to 2021.”
Meanwhile, the prospect of the Six Nations giving their support for World Rugby’s international championship looks remote.
Melville confirmed that the Six Nations would take a collective view on their response to the proposal, which is due on April 5, and it would require unanimous support, effectively giving a single union the right to veto it.
Melville yesterday outlined significant obstacles to the RFU’S support for the Nations Championship format and declared that relegation from the Six Nations conference would be “catastrophic” for the English game.
The Telegraph revealed last Thursday that the RFU could be forced to sell Twickenham if such a doomsday scenario occurred, and Melville appeared to state that promotion and relegation was a red line.
“I think we make sure it doesn’t arise,” he said, when asked about the prospect of selling Twickenham. “That solves that problem. You just don’t want to get into a situation where you’re making decisions like that.
“For us, it could be catastrophic being relegated, commercially. To be relegated, the catastrophe isn’t just the team being relegated, it’s our ability to fund the game as a governing body in England.”