England taps former Japan rugby boss Jones

Other coaches who viewed their interest in the England job include former Bok coach Jake White and former All Black coach John Mitchell, while the name of former All Black assistant coach Wayne Smith was also mentioned.

Coaches such as Michael Cheika, Warren Gatland and Joe Schmidt were all mentioned, conveniently overlooking the fact that all are employed by nations more successful than England.

He left Japan because of what he perceived as the lack of ambition at the Japan Rugby Union and, as a man who understands the importance of the media, any gripes he has will not remain within the halls of “Headquarters” for long. His fellow former pupils include Bob Carr, who was New South Wales Premier between 1995 and 2005, in addition to the global rugby-playing Ella brothers – Mark, Glen and Gary.

Ritchie is determined to appoint a heavyweight coach in the wake of the disappointing World Cup campaign, which saw England become the first hosts not to qualify for the knock-out stages following defeats by Wales and Australia.

He had previously coached Australia to the final of the 2003 tournament and been an advisor to the South Africa team that won the 2007 edition of rugby’s showpiece event. The Wallabies lost five times to England from seven starts under Jones – a 29 per cent success rate – compared to 33 per cent (South Africa) and 45 per cent (New Zealand).

Securing the services of the former Japan coach will not come cheap.

They claim the job is one of the most appealing in world rugby but we are ranked lower than all the aforementioned nations.

Reports that surfaced from the United Kingdom’s tabloids the Telegraph and Daily Mail indicated that the England Rugby Union (RFU) are closing in on the deal to secure Jones services which will make him the first foreign coach of England.

England lock Geoff Parling insists that whoever takes over as the team’s new head coach will inherit a strong squad, despite their recent World Cup disappointment. “I believe the future is bright for England”.

RFU Chief Executive Ian Ritchie said the search for Stuart Lancaster’s successor was made easier because Eddie Jones was the outstanding candidate: “We promised to recruit a coach with proven worldwide experience and we have done that”.

Jones’ first game in charge will be against Scotland in Edinburgh on February 6, as England seek to end a run of four successive second-place finishes in the Six Nations championship.

“The expectations are very high but England have been a good side and someone like Eddie Jones will come in and they will certainly stay at the same level or get better”.

“Firstly my thanks must go to Rob Wagner and everyone at Western Province Rugby for understanding my decision and allowing me to return to the global stage so quickly”, Jones said in a statement. “We are grateful to the Stormers for their co-operation in releasing Eddie early from his contract”.