Braking his silence on the issue, England captain Owen Farrell believes the Rugby Football Union’s decision to sack Eddie Jones as head coach was “unbelievably disappointing”.
In the interim, Richard Cockerill will take over the day to day running of the men’s performance team.
During his time in charge Jones steered England to three Six Nations titles, including a Grand Slam in 2016, two series wins in Australia, an unbeaten run of 18 matches, an Autumn Nations Cup, and a Rugby World Cup final in Japan.
Speaking exclusively to the BBC, Farrell said: “Eddie had been a big part of England Rugby for a long time now and he has been one of the best coaches I have ever had so, for that, I’m massively thankful.
“We are disappointed it has finished early and we owe a lot to him. I have been around for a while now and not been around too many changes, both at club and international level. It’s not pleasant to go through.
“I don’t think it has come from the players. There is obviously stuff we all want to get better at from the results but as players you look at yourself and see what you can do.”
Asked if he’d spoke to Jones since his sacking, Farrell wrote: “We have exchanged a few messages and hopefully I will see him.”
England boss winning %:
- Sir Clive Woodward – 71 per cent
- Andy Robinson – 41 per cent
- Brian Ashton – 55 per cent
- Martin Johnson – 53 per cent
- Stuart Lancaster – 61 per cent
- Eddie Jones – 73 per cent
Huge pay-off:
Sources suggest the Aussie will receive between £700,000 and £800,000 pay-out. To land Borthwick would require a payout in the region of £200,000 to get Tigers to release him from his current contract.
“Farrell finished” – How England could line-up under incoming coach Steve Borthwick
Back-three:
- 15. Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers)
- 14. Ollie Hassell-Collins (London Irish)
- 11. Adam Radwan (Newcastle Falcons)
Centres:
- 13. Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs)
- 12. Ollie Lawrence (Bath)
