England head coach Eddie Jones is under severe pressure to get a tune out of his side during the Autumn Nations Series following their disastrous fifth place finish in the Six Nations earlier this year.
The RFU said, following a review into their worst Six Nations since 1976, that the Aussie retains the union’s “full support” after the chief executive, Bill Sweeney, had previously refused to rule out activating a break clause in the Australian’s contract.
Jones – the highest paid coach in the world – is contracted through to the 2023 World Cup in France but in announcing a number of recommendations, the RFU intends to keep Jones and England’s performances under regular review via a group of “external rugby experts”.
They will be called upon to review and support the coaching strategy after every England campaign, though have not been named by the RFU, which has also kept secret the identity of the review panel, who were assisted by coaches – past and present – and a series of presentations from Jones.
This didn’t stop speculation that the RFU had looked into possible successors, with The Rugby Paper going as far to suggest they’d sounded out Gatland and Rassie Erasmus.
They further say there are rumours Gatland is “house-hunting in the Twickenham area ahead of a potential post-Lions tour move to the capital, but it is understood nothing has been signed”.
England next head coach odds (Oddschecker)
#5. Andy Farrell – 22/1
The irony with Farrell is that he is arguably the most obvious candidate and fits the role as well as anyone, but he might be the toughest for the RFU to land due to his long-term deal with Ireland.
