Jake White has weighed in on the Eddie Jones saga, saying the proximity of next year’s Rugby World Cup could be what saves the Australian’s job as England coach.
According to reports, Jones expects to be sacked early next week after presiding over England’s worst year of international rugby since 2008, comprising six defeats, a draw and five wins, and ending with a heavy defeat to the world champion Springboks at Twickenham.
An ongoing review led by RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney is set to decide if Jones stays as coach until next year’s World Cup in France or leaves some 12 months earlier than scheduled.
In his latest column for Rugby Pass, World Cup-winning coach White suggests that Jones “is in trouble” after previously having tipped his one-time Springbok assistant to lift the Webb Ellis Cup at France 2023.
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“I know more than anyone that a week is a long time in Test rugby because in 2006, I had been flown home earlier in the series for a vote of no confidence, ironically from my current employers, the Bulls. They had called into question my leadership of South Africa, so I know how Eddie is feeling right now,” White wrote.
“It’s days since a heavy defeat to South Africa and the mood has changed. The silence has been deafening from the RFU which adds to the swirling conjecture over Eddie’s future being in the balance.
“Eddie will have spent this week nervously waiting, crossing his fingers and toes for a positive outcome.
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White added: “Last week I said England were favourites for the World Cup, and nothing has changed. It is still possible. They still have a great draw, they still have great players, and they will have huge travelling support but they have ground to make up.
“The one area Eddie has regressed in, and I’ve said it previously, is his inability to retain staff, and according to reports, more key staff seem to be wavering. He seems to be making the same mistakes wherever he’s gone.
“My gut feeling is he is in trouble. If the World Cup wasn’t less than a year away, he’d be gone. That is a fact. If the World Cup was two years away, he’d be out of there.”
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