Governing body has backed
England coach despite poor Six Nations but its support appears to come with hidden caveats
So Eddie Jones is still the right man to steer England forward. Or is he? The further down the carefully constructed tower of corporate Jenga-speak you descend, the less glowing the Rugby
Football Union’s vote of confidence starts to look. Where, for example, is the definitive line saying: “We’re sticking with Eddie until 2023 regardless”? Let alone any gung-ho predictions about imminent
World Cup glory.
Instead, to employ a technical term, Twickenham has chosen a “suck it and see” response to England’s fifth place in the 2021 Six Nations. The RFU will not even reveal who sat on the panel that deliberated upon Jones’s worth, which would merit AC-12’s scrutiny if it were not such a classic blame-avoidance tactic. If England do hoist the World Cup in
France in 2023, the faceless panel members are unlikely to remain mystery voices for long.