England title favourites – but talks set to decide coach’s future

Contract extension to be discussed with the RFU Saracens players primed for two-test Japan tour

England head coach Eddie Jones will hold talks over his future, with his side now odds-on favourites to win a disrupted Guinness Six Nations Championship.

Scotland ended France’s Grand Slam hopes yesterday with a 28-17 victory at Murrayfield. The assist from the Auld Enemy means England are now in pole position for their first title since 2017 when they play their fixture in Italy which was postponed because of the coronavirus crisis. That is unlikely to take place before next season as there are so few free dates available.

On Saturday, England captured the Triple Crown by beating Wales 33-30 at Twickenham and Jones, whose contract expires next year, is keen to resolve his own future when he meets the Rugby Football Union chief executive, Bill Sweeney. “I think we’ve got dinner organised in a couple of weeks, so we may be able to chat about it,” Jones said. “It must be his shout.”

Yet whether he truly wants to stay in the role through to the 2023 World Cup remains in doubt. The prestige and salary for being England head coach remain powerful drivers, as would the opportunity to take this team one step further in France after their World Cup final defeat by South Africa. According to Jones, this is a “better team than we were at the World Cup”.

Yet, by his own admission, Jones made plain that coaching now sparked little joy. “I never enjoy coaching,” said Jones. “Winning is a relief. Anyone who tells you they enjoy coaching is lying. All you do is coach hard, if you win you feel good for 24 hours and then you’re back into it. You get to coach these extraordinary, gifted players. You give them something that helps develop them as a player and a person. The joy you get from that is unbelievable but generally any coach who says they find coaching enjoyable is probably not telling the truth.”

Jones was stung by the criticism he received after England’s openinground 24-17 defeat by France, which he says was because he underprepared the team. His mood has not been lifted by successive victories against Scotland, Ireland and Wales. Rather than relish the second Triple

Crown of his tenure on Saturday night, Jones was more transfixed by referee Ben O’keeffe’s decision to send off centre Manu Tuilagi, complaining of playing against “16 men”.

The majority of lawmakers agreed that Tuilagi deserved a red card for his shoulder-led contact with the head of Wales wing George North. Even one of his own players, scrumhalf Ben Youngs, backed O’keeffe’s decision. “If that’s in the interpretation, that’s fine,” Youngs said. “I don’t and Manu doesn’t have any qualms with it.”

It could also have been a typical Jones attempt to divert attention from Joe Marler’s interaction with Alun Wyn Jones’s groin and how England nearly let Wales back into the game. England’s failure to register a bonus point against both Ireland and Wales, having scored three tries with at least 18 minutes remaining, could yet prove costly.

England top the table on points difference and must better France’s result against Ireland to finish ahead of them. However, they could still be overtaken by Ireland, whose own match at home to Italy this weekend was postponed, if Andy Farrell’s team claimed maximum points in their remaining fixtures.

For now, Jones’s attention is focused on the two-test tour to Japan, which could still be subject to the spread of coronavirus. When the season structure was agreed in 2018, the RFU indicated the tour would be developmental and that front-line players would be rested. However, individual exceptions can be made subject to agreement of the Player Performance Management Group, which is made up of representatives from the RFU, Premiership Rugby and the Rugby Players’ Association.

With Jones emphasising the sole priority in Japan was simply “winning”, he hinted that his key players at Saracens, who will be relegated from the Premiership, could still be involved. “They’ve got to play some rugby, don’t they?” Jones said. “It’s either playing Jersey or Japan.”

Jones also suggested that lock George Kruis could still play even if he makes his expected move from Saracens to Japanese club rugby. “Well, just because he goes to Japan doesn’t mean he can’t play for England,” Jones said.

Even before grabbing the Welsh captain’s genitals, Marler, 29, may have also played his last Test, having previously retired from international rugby. With an average age of 28, the oldest since the 2011 World Cup, England need a gradual refresh. That process has already started, with George Furbank, Will Stuart and Ben Earl winning their first caps in this campaign. Alex Mitchell has also been identified as the heir apparent at scrum-half.

“Four guys is, what, 15, 20 per cent of your squad. So, that’s a good rotation,” Jones said. “If we do another 20 per cent next year, that’s 40 per cent. Then another 20 per cent with whoever is coaching in year three, that’s 60 per cent. So, by year four you have rotated 80 per cent, which means you have got a new squad.”

As Jones hinted, the big question is whether he leads that evolution.