Edinburgh coach Richard Cockerill plays down link with England job

EDINBURGH: Coach is happy in capital amid talk of Jones’ successor

Edinburgh coach Richard Cockerill has played down talk he could be in the running to one day succeed Eddie Jones as England coach.

Cockerill is one of a number of English coaches to have caught the eye of Rugby Football Union interim chief executive Nigel Melville.

His Edinburgh side currently sit top of Champions Cup Pool Five following a bonus-point win against Newcastle on Friday and Melville is impressed by the job he has done north of the border.

Melville told The Daily Telegraph: “Cockerill has done an amazing job in Edinburgh, did you think he’d do a really good job up there?

“I questioned whether he would but actually he’s done a really good job.

“There are these young guys around that you sometimes don’t think about – Joe Worsley has done a great job in Bordeaux, he’s head coach now and it’ll be interesting to see how that develops.

“Steve Borthwick (England assistant coach) did some great work going down to various countries, obviously working with Japan. I’m sure Steve would be interested in the head coach job. He’s a good developing coach and he knows international rugby pretty well now.”

Melville has been encouraged by the job England boss Gareth Southgate has done with the national football team.

“He (Southgate) has played on that (being English). Eddie accepts that, the English piece, and Englishness is important, essential,” Melville added.

But speaking to Matt Dawson’s Rugby Show on BBC Radio Five Live, Cockerill dismissed any link to the national team.

He said: “I am not sure that is a conversation the union will be having with me anytime soon.

“It is a really hard one. Guys have come out in the last few days and said they are probably not interested.

“It is such a high-pressure job and it is almost sometimes a hiding to nothing.

“When you are in a really good DOR (director of rugby) job at your club and enjoying it, I am not sure for some guys it is that tempting to leave the day-in, day-out work of club rugby, which is great fun.”

Exeter director of rugby Rob Baxter and Saracens counterpart Mark McCall have also revealed they are not interested in the job at present.

Meanwhile Leicester kept their slim Heineken Champions Cup hopes alive by securing a four-try bonus point in a thrilling 36-26 defeat to Racing 92 in Paris.

Racing secured a bonus point of their own before the break through tries from Virimi Vakatawa, Juan Imhoff, Simon Zebo and Baptiste Chouzenoux.

Olivier Klemenczak added a fifth after the break but Leicester refused to buckle and ensured they left the French capital with something to show for their efforts.

Jonah Holmes, Sione Kalamafoni, Manu Tuilagi and Adam Thompstone were their scorers.

“We’re disappointed in the result. I feel like I’ve played in the game to be honest,” said Leicester head coach Murphy.

“It was an emotional rollercoaster. We wanted to play fast and on that surface we thought we’d get opportunities to get some points on the board.

“We conceded too easily in the first half and gave ourselves a mountain to climb.

“We worked incredibly hard and stuck together and I’m proud of the boys for hanging in there.”

It is such a highpressure job and it is almost sometimes a hiding to nothing. RICHARD COCKERILL

SNS. Richard Cockerill has caught the eye with Edinburgh.