Cheika backs Jones to revitalise England

Australian Eddie Jones has been appointed coach of the England rugby team on a four-year contract starting in December, the Rugby Football Union said on Friday.

‘It is a matter for Eddie to appraise the coaches and then it is absolutely his call for what team he wants and we will do whatever he needs to assist him to get whatever team he wants, ‘ said Ritchie, who added that his recommendation to appoint Jones was backed unanimously by the RFU board.

“I believe the current laws are the right regulation to have”, he told BBC’s Sportsweek program.

Clive Woodward, England’s World Cup-winning coach, said on Twitter that Jones was a good appointment but that it “raises the white flag for English coaches”.

In taking RFU chief executive Ian Ritchie up on his offer made during a flying visit to Cape Town last weekend he walked out on his previous employers, the Stormers, after just eight days.

Coming to the end of his contract in Japan, he said he was proud of what he achieved with a startling performance in this year’s Rugby World Cup, defeating South Africa’s Springboks in their opening match.

The basic message from the RFU is they only want coaches who have got worldwide experience, but you can forget about getting that experience with England.

“I can’t judge them on what they have done before – I have got to look at the players and say ‘can you help this team win?’ If they can, and they buy into the team values, you can always have guys that come outside a little bit but you can’t have too many of them”.

In light of those comments, and the general feeling that England were a poorer side without the selection of a genuine No. 7 in the mould of a David Pocock or Michael Hooper, the odds on Jones retaining Robshaw as a starter, let alone as the captain, must be lengthy. England may have talent (though they have yet to really prove it in the Six Nations or consistently against the Southern Hemisphere), but nobody could sensibly credit them with “cohesion” at the World Cup.

“We won’t be copying how the All Blacks play”.

Jones, 55, succeeds Stuart Lancaster, who resigned after the tournament, saying “we didn’t achieve success on the field when it mattered, and we all have to take responsibility for that, but me especially”.

“One of the goals by the 2019 World Cup is to have a couple of the assistant coaches ready to take over as the head coach and I see that as a fundamental part of my job”, he said.

Lancaster was condemned by a few for approaching the England job as a schoolmaster, but, according to David Campese, Jones’s approach to a coaching job is also that of a schoolmaster. A lot of the back line had not played together and the All Blacks were cooking and there is no much you can do when they are like that.

The 55-year-old former Australia and Japan coach replaces Stuart Lancaster, who stepped down in the wake of the hosts’ pool-stage exit from the World Cup.

England’s new head coach Eddie Jones will be looking for Richie McCaw-esque qualities as he weighs up who will captain his side in the Six Nations – but whoever is chosen will have to be a unwavering supporter of the credo he will implant within the national side.

Jones said there was a “blank sheet of paper” for his first game, away to Scotland on February 6, and was confident there was more than enough quality available to develop a world-beating side.

The 55 year old is straight talking and focused, he knows the task at hand and has a management and personal style that will be good for both the RFU and England’s players.

“We will be clear on what we want in the team, how we want to behave and how we want to play”.