(Photo: Getty Images)
By Adam Ellis
The RFU have signed Eddie Jones to a contract extension which will see the Australian continue as head coach through to 2021.
Brought in after England‘s embarrassing exit at their home World Cup in 2015, Jones has guided England to back-to-back Six Nations titles and a historic tour of Australia where they sent the Wallabies to a 3-0 whitewash.
On committing himself to the job for the long-term, Jones said: “Coaching England is a dream job for me, and I was delighted to be asked to stay on after Rugby World Cup 2019,” said Jones.
“I have been completely focussed on developing a team capable of being the number one rugby team in the world and winning the World Cup in 2019. I never take my role as England head coach for granted and did not presume I would be asked to stay on, but, once the conversations started very recently, it was not a difficult decision to make.
Despite the success of his tenure thus far, the RFU confirmed the new deal included a break clause should the team’s performance at the Japan Rugby World Cup next year fall short of expectations, but added more emphasis was being placed on their plans to groom a successor for Jones when the time comes for a change.
“Eddie’s results as England head coach speak for themselves,” said RFU chief executive Steve Brown.
“Under Eddie’s leadership, we have risen from eighth to second in the world – and Eddie won’t be satisfied until we are number one.
“He has a 95% win rate at the helm, and has been a galvanizing force for the RFU, bringing focus, clarity and extraordinary commitment to the role.
“We now have a robust succession planning process in place which will avoid the historically disruptive pattern of resetting the coaching team and performance system every four years. Eddie will be a big part of this process, and wants to ensure a smooth handover to his successor.”
England begin the defence of their Six Nations title against Italy in Rome on Sunday 4 February.
