RFU CHIEFS will review whether to sack manager Eddie Jones after England’s Six Nations disaster.
The Red Rose lost out to Scotland, Wales and Ireland in the same championship for the first time in 45 years.
And RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney is set to review the dismal performances, alongside a hand picked panel of rugby experts, as they decide whether to trigger a sack clause in Jones‘ contract.
Bullish Jones, 61, still believes that he is the man to lead England towards the 2023 World Cup.
But he has admitted that the decision is out of his hands.
Asked if he was still the right man after defeat in Ireland, boss Jones said: “That’s for other people to answer, not for me to answer. No one is more disappointed than the team and ourselves. Fans have a right to be disappointed.”
Yesterday, Jones faced a forensic debrief with RFU chief Bill Sweeney after their dismal Championship title defence.
Jones added: “The coaches and the senior players will continue debriefing.
“When you have these runs the debriefs are more intense and more frantic and we will make sure we do that.”
The failing boss is the highest-paid coach in Test rugby with a deal worth more than £700,000-a-year.
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Frustratingly for fans, Jones reckons their record of just two wins, equalling their 2018 run, was to be expected.
He said: “At Six Nations level, you get to a certain stage and the success makes you a bit weak.
“You need to fight through that. It’s hard to be at the top of the tree all the time.
“We thought it was going to be a tough Six Nations. We’re disappointed that it went that way but it doesn’t surprise me at all.
“I knew that a tough period was coming, because we’ve had a good run, we’ve won games we probably shouldn’t have won.”
By the World Cup the squad will probably be 30 per cent new players
Eddie Jones
And Jones warned players that some were reaching the end of the line.
He added: “By the World Cup the squad will probably be 30 per cent new players.
“How quickly that transitions depends on how quickly the young guys come through.
“I’m trying to assess which players can be hungry to be the best player in the world at the World Cup and win the World Cup.
“And which players maybe don’t have the desire to keep working hard.”
