England rugby news: Eddie Jones

England manager Eddie Jones update

To help deliver a lifetime of great rugby, England’s popular head coach Eddie Jones recently opened a new 250-person clubhouse at Hinckley RFC. "Clubs like Hinckley RFC are the heartbeat of the English game, so it’s been great to be here today as the club celebrates this special milestone,” said Jones. "There’s a good atmosphere and camaraderie among its members and you can tell people care passionately about the future of the game. You really get a sense that we’re all in this together for English rugby.

"The new clubhouse looks like an excellent facility which I’m sure will continue to help attract new players at all levels,” added Jones. "It’s great to hear about the thriving grassroots system, like the one they have in place here, which is helping introduce youngsters to the game we love." Hinckley RFC chairman John Tilley has hopes that the new clubhouse will "deliver a lifetime of great rugby". The RFU has plans to improve the standard of facilities at sustainable community rugby clubs around England, “increasing the opportunities to access quality playing conditions for both new and existing players”.

Hinckley RFC purchased Hinckley Town football club which included two football pitches and a clubhouse located next to the Hinckley RFC rugby club with help from the Rugby Football Union (RFU), Sport England and the Rugby Football Foundation (RFF), In an ambitious move, Hinckley purchased and renovated the new clubhouse and grounds over a six year period at a cost of £900,000. “Creating something special for the future has been central to Hinckley RFC's plans for a long time," said Tilley. "We wanted to build facilities that would stand the test of time and enable us to host fundraisers, dinners and events for our members. With fantastic support from our sponsors and the RFU, plus a lot of hard work from our volunteers, this long-term vision has finally become a reality.”

Tilley thanked Jones for being there for the opening. "Eddie is not only a great international coach of the elite, he is also an inspiration to the grassroots game – a true rugby man and we would like to thank him very much for being here today.”

The Rugby Football Union is in the process of perhaps appointing another overseas coach to take over for England from Australian Eddie Jones in three years’ time, even though they said when Jones was appointed 10 months ago that it planned to groom English coaches for Jones’ job going forward as part of its succession plan. Jones has not had second thoughts to date about his decision to leave after England competes in the 2019 World Cup in Japan. “That is certainly the contract and that is the assumption I am working on,” said RFU chief executive, Ian Ritchie. “We will see nearer the time if he has changed his mind and whether we want to ask.”

The RFU shocked England by appointing Jones as its first non-English head coach after the national teams’ poor showing in the 2015 Rugby World Cup, hoping to improve England’s standings nationwide and in the International competitions. Their decision was validated as Jones has delivered a perfect record of winning all nine of his nine games in charge as new manager. Jones took over the job stating that it was “a four-year project”, then he planned to “retire to Barbados to watch cricket”. Jones kept his pledge of appointing English coaches as his main assistants, Steve Borthwick (forwards) and Paul Gustard (defence), with a succession plan that they would succeed him.

The RFU has now decided they will look to appoint the best man for the job whatever his nationality when the time comes, preferring an Englishman. However Jones’ appointment has been so successful that the RFU has decided that in the future it would be too limiting not to consider all contenders whatever their nationality. “We would love our coaches to be English if they are good enough,” said Nigel Melville, director of pro rugby at the RFU. “In America we always wanted to have an American coach in charge of the American team. When we did he was very good for the environment but he wasn’t necessarily good for our rugby. So, yes, English, but only if good enough and we hope we can make them good enough.”

Melville said he has learned that it is difficult to get young coaches with enough experience to ensure they are fit to win international tournaments. It has been proven that being a successful coach in the Premiership is no guarantee of winning at the Test level. “It is proven that just being a Premiership coach does not necessarily make you a good international coach,” said Melville. “As with players, we need to put them in a different environment to challenge them. They need to get that outside opportunity. We did that with Exeter’s Ali Hepher with the Saxons to South Africa in the summer and he came out with flying colors. He really understands a lot more about the challenges. We need to give our coaches a menu of opportunities, not just day-to-day coaching in the Premiership. It isn’t going to necessarily create the next England coach.”

There is also a problem of mixing Rugby Union coaching with being employed by a Premiership club due to a possible conflict of interest arising with a Saxons or assistant England coach having direct dealings with rival players from another club. “We have been talking to Premier Rugby about how we can develop coaches and give them international experience but there has been a bit of tugging backwards and forwards about stealing coaches,” said Melville. “There is the possibility of doing some immersion work in the southern hemisphere during their off-season but as far as the Saxons are concerned, there are only a limited number of games with the next tour not until 2018.”

Jones is expected to recruit some assistants for England’s tour to Argentina next summer including either one or both Borthwick and Gustard. Eddie Jones has a 100 per cent win record with England to date. Watch Jones compete to take his England side to glory in the upcoming 2016 Autumn Internationals and 2017 Six Nations! Buy England rugby union tickets including Autumn Internationals tickets and Six Nations tickets now @ LiveRugbyTickets.co.uk now!