ENGLAND ARE READY IF EDDIE FLOPS
RFU have ‘plan B’ in case Jones crashes out of the World Cup
THE RFU claim they are well prepared for a doomsday scenario where England crash out of the 2019 World Cup and Eddie Jones leaves his contract two years early.
The England head coach is signed up until 2021, and the RFU’s Plan A is for him to stay on as boss after Japan, mentor his successor and then move aside.
But the union are convinced that if England fail at the World Cup, and Jones leaves, they will be ready to enact an entirely separate Plan B — of parachuting in a top international coach.
Twickenham bosses say they are simultaneously readying themselves for both eventualities, with a small selection committee set to be assembled before the tournament, tasked with finding suitable candidates.
‘We’ll be absolutely ready but as far as I am concerned, Eddie is contracted through to 2021,’ said stand-in RFU chief executive Nigel Melville, who tried to dampen speculation that his former colleague at Wasps Warren Gatland — who is set to leave Wales after the World Cup — is their Plan B target.
‘We aren’t talking to one of those coaches who people keep saying we are going to sign.
‘We are looking at more than one or two coaches. The Warren thing — is Warren going to do the Lions? Is Warren going to France? Is Warren coming to England?
‘At this point that is not a concern to me. I brought him to Wasps so I am aware of his talent. I do speak to Warren. He’s a talented guy with a fantastic resumé.
‘If we are going to take his comments, I read (Gatland said) we couldn’t afford him and he didn’t want to come to England. So maybe France can afford him and we can’t. I don’t know.
‘There is a small list because there aren’t lots and lots of coaches out there who are capable of coaching England.’
The RFU’s recruitment process is complicated by the fact that their new CEO Bill Sweeney, whose job it would traditionally be to appoint the England coach, has five months’ notice left to serve at the British Olympic Association, has no set start date at Twickenham and will not be in place until at least August.
That would leave the union precious little time to beat other countries or clubs to securing a top coach like Gatland before the World Cup, which starts in September, in the event that Jones jumps ship after it in November.
Melville also said that if England wanted to appoint an assistant coach for the new regime — such as departing Wales defence coach Shaun Edwards — they could do so before naming a top man. ‘If that was the right thing to do, we could do it,’ he added.
Meanwhile the RFU, who would have to sanction any move to ring-fence the Premiership, are sure one side will go down this year, despite suspicious voices suggesting clubs could move to put an end to promotion and relegation, especially if Leicester Tigers finished 12th.
‘Everyone knew going into this season what the rules were,’ Melville reiterated. ‘Nothing’s changed. One team is coming up, one team is going down.’