Jones England odds slashed
LONDON: Eddie Jones, the former Australia and Japan rugby coach, has emerged as the hot favourite to take over the vacant England job after one British bookmaker stopped taking bets after his odds plummeted on the back of money pouring in on the Australian.
Bookmaker William Hill said yesterday that Jones’s odds plummeted from 6-1 to 11-10 after a series of bets that followed the announcement by Australia coach Michael Cheika that he was not interested in the job.
“The gamble suggests that at the very least Eddie Jones is on a short-list and an announcement could be imminent,” said William Hill spokesman Rupert Adams.
Ian Ritchie, the Rugby Football Union (RFU) chief executive, said last week that England would seek to replace Stuart Lancaster with “proven international experience” and Jones is one of the few elite coaches in world rugby who comfortably fits the bill.
He led Japan to their best-ever World Cup showing in England, where they managed three victories, including a 34-32 win over South Africa. He also coached the Wallabies to the World Cup final in 2003 and was an assistant to Jake White when the Springboks won the 2007 tournament.
Jones, who recently took charge of South African Super Rugby side the Stormers, ruled himself out of the England job last week when he arrived in Cape Town.
South African White was the early favourite for a job that media reports claim carries an annual salary of £500,000 pounds (US$758,700).
Lancaster left the role “by mutual consent” last week, despite having four years left on his contract, following England’s pool-stage exit from the World Cup.
On Monday, Cheika ruled out the prospect of seeking the role of England’s head coach while suggesting that the RFU should look nearer to home to find a replacement for Lancaster.
Cheika, who coached the Wallabies to the World Cup final, is just one of several elite international coaches whose name has been linked with the most lucrative coaching job in world rugby since Lancaster left the post last week.
Yet the 48-year-old has reaffirmed his commitment to Australia, calling it his “dream” appointment.
“I’m an Australian coaching Australia. It’s the dream. There is nothing that would change my mind,” Cheika told BBC Radio.
Yet, though the RFU has set out its stall to find a coach with that sort of international pedigree, Cheika was adamant that there are coaches in the English club game who should be considered.
“Exeter’s Rob Baxter and the guys at Northampton (where the coaching team is led by Jim Mallinder, Dean Richards [at Newcastle] ... there are heaps of guys coaching the same England players on a day-today basis in the Premiership, who given the right support could do a really good job,” he said.