Eddie Jones' successor will be picked on merit over nationality - Steve Brown
The RFU is already thinking about who will replace Eddie Jones, pictured, as England head coach when his contract runs out in two years
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New Rugby Football Union chief executive Steve Brown stated that the successor to England coach Eddie Jones will be picked based on merit rather than nationality.
Jones' who took over the reins from Stuart Lancaster post-2015 World Cup has signed a contract with the Rugby Football Union until the 2019 edition of the tournament to be played in Japan.
The 57-year-old had already indicated that he might not renew his role with the RFU post-2019 World Cup despite having a successful run that saw England win 19 out of the 20 Tests under him.
Earlier, Brown's predecessor Ian Ritchie stated that an English replacement to Jones needs to be groomed under the Australian.
"My general opinion would be that the bar has been set very high by Eddie. Eddie has been superbly successful and he will be right up to the World Cup," Brown said.
"There is a standard that has been set there that shows what we need next time around. Ultimately it is measured on winning. The bar has been set and we know where it is and that is where we have got to work to."
However, Brown insisted that it will be merit that will be the decisive factor in deciding Jones' replacement, if the England coach opts against renewing his contract.
When asked if the next head coach must be English, Brown said: "The best person for the job."
"Rather than talking specifically about Eddie, we need to look at post-2019 and what happens next.
"Don't assume we are doing nothing. Part of the evolution of the union, specifically around the head coach piece, is that we start to look at succession planning properly. Eddie is very keen to play a part in that.
"Some consideration has been going on for a while around what it could be but it is not locked down or set in stone yet."
