Rugby: Jones says 'difficult' to coach another team at World Cup
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Former England coach Eddie Jones was axed in December.
PHOTO: AFP
SYDNEY – Sacked England coach Eddie Jones said on Friday the last three years had taken a toll and it would be “difficult” to bounce back and coach another team at the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
The Australian, who had been in charge since 2015, was axed by the Rugby Football Union in December
He was replaced by former captain Steve Borthwick.
Jones, 62, is reportedly being courted by several Test nations, including the United States, Japan and Georgia, and has been linked with the Wallabies.
But he told the Sydney Morning Herald he would not rush into a decision, saying it was unlikely he would coach another side at the World Cup in France.
“Coaching at the next World Cup will be difficult,” he said.
“It probably has struck me that the last three years has taken a fair bit out of me. It was pretty all encompassing the last three years, so I think I’ll take a bit of a breath now.
“If someone comes forward and the offer’s too good to refuse then I’ll look at it. But I think it’s getting too close to the starting point of the World Cup, so I’m not too bothered one way or another.”
Jones took England to the final of the 2019 World Cup, where they lost to South Africa, and had always targeted success in the Sept 8-Oct 28 tournament in France.
Earlier in December, Rugby Australia chairman Hamish McLennan and Jones reportedly had phone talks with the governing body
Current Wallabies coach Dave Rennie is under increasing pressure after a poor year and, with a British and Irish Lions tour in 2025 and a home World Cup two years later, Jones has been flagged as a potential replacement.
Jones told the Sydney Morning Herald he was interested in “anything where I can add value”.
“That would be my starting point: whether I can add value and whether they can win. They’re the two things I’m looking at,” he said.
Jones also heaped praise on his successor Borthwick.
“We coached together for nine years. I brought him into coaching with Japan and he’s a fantastic assistant coach,” he said.
“The difficult thing for him is he’s still quite young. He’s 41.
“But he’s quite mature. The test will be when the pressure gets on, when the media starts coming at him, maybe the support at the top starts to waver a little bit. How he can hold his nerve. But he’s a good man.” AFP, REUTERS
