'Would be surprised not to see Jones coaching rivals in World Cup' - RFU chief Bill Sweeney
Eddie Jones coached England for seven years before he was sacked this month
©PA
Rugby Football Union chief executive Bill Sweeney says he would be 'amazed' not to see Eddie Jones involved in the upcoming Rugby World Cup with the rivals.
Jones was sacked by the RFU earlier in the month following a review conducted by the board after they managed to win just five wins from 12 matches this year.
They also finished fifth in the Six Nations tournament apart from securing a solitary win from the four matches in the ladbrokes new customer offer autumn internationals although they managed an away series win in Australia during their summer tour.
England did manage to claw back a 19 point deficit against New Zealand to earn themselves a draw despite being outclassed in the early exchanges. The real damage to Jones’ reputation came in the final Autumn Nations game against South Africa where England were out played in many areas of the game.
Leicester director of rugby Steve Borthwick was announced as Jones' replacement by the England board on Monday but Sweeney believes the chances are high that the 62-year-old might join the Wallabies camp as a consultant ahead of the showpiece event in France next year.
“I’d be amazed if he wasn’t there; who knows?” said Sweeney on Jones' involvement with Australia.
“Does he go there as a consultant, does he go to the US, to Japan? I don’t know.
“We’ve spoken about various different things he might have done post-2023, whatever happens will happen.
"We are confident with Steve and Kevin and whatever coaching team he puts around him.
"I’m sure Steve will get the best out of the England team and if that’s how it is in the quarter-final, then it will be a great day.”
Under Jones England went on to be the runner up in the 2019 World Cup in Japan but Sweeney believes the focus should be more on consistency.
“You can’t have an obsession with a World Cup once every four years,” added Sweeney.
“The Six Nations is the best rugby tournament in the world. We want to win every Six Nations tournament and game. Having that balance is important.
“Eddie has made a huge contribution to English rugby. He was here nearly seven years and, until we had that poor run of results in 2022, his win ratio was 81 per cent.
“He has always proved that he can beat southern hemisphere competition. He is a great World Cup coach. He has been in four or five tournaments."
