Sir Clive: Jones is on trial
Gary Fitzgerald
SIR CLIVE WOODWARD claims the RFU are right to play a waiting game with Eddie Jones and insists his old rival must earn a new contract extension with a successful Six Nations.
Woodward also states “there are many good enough English coaches” equipped to replace the Aussie if he does eventually opt against staying on beyond August 2021.
Twickenham bosses are preparing to hold more talks with Jones when he returns from his wellearned festive break, and begins his aim to rebuild the England team.
Chief executive Bill Sweeney admitted recently that no formal agreement has been made as yet to retain the services of the man who led England to the World Cup final in
Japan and said an extension through to France 2023 “must work for both sides”.
And Woodward believes Jones needs to continue proving he is the right man to stay in charge of the national side by ensuring their despairing loss to South Africa does not spill into a poor showing in the forthcoming battle for Northern Hemisphere supremacy.
He said: “If I was the
RFU I’d see how things go in the Six Nations and the next 12 months. He has two years left on his contract and the last few years and the World Cup have taken a lot out of him.
“The disappointment of what happened in Japan will be huge, and he does have to start again.
“I don’t think it is a case of everything is OK, we have a good young team that’s building. I don’t think we have. This is a line in the sand and we have to start again.
“I do like Jones even though we do try to wind each other up a lot and compete against each other. I would like to see Jones take England into the next World Cup but that’s only as long as he starts well in the Six Nations and then beyond that.”