Eddie Jones will remain at the helm of England through to next year’s Rugby World Cup but his superiors have acknowledged a big leap forward is required if his squad are to hoist the Webb Ellis Cup in France ahead of a host of improving rivals.
Although Bill Sweeney, the Rugby Football Union’s chief executive, says the union retains full confidence in Jones following the 2-1 series win in Australia, there is recognition at Twickenham that England have ground to make up on Ireland and France, currently the top two sides in the World Rugby rankings, and need to kick on again next season.
“We’ve got to improve a lot to be competitive,” said Sweeney, suggesting Ireland’s series triumph in New Zealand had raised the bar for all concerned. “We are not blind to some of the areas that need to be addressed. Ireland are clearly on a really strong path and we all know how the French have evolved. So we are matching and comparing ourselves to that.”
“I hear people say Ireland were ranked No 1 a year before 2019, they don’t peak at the right time and have never been to a [World Cup] semi-final but this looks, to me, like a different type of squad. The challenge for us is to improve at the rate we think is good enough to be fully competitive in 2023. And we do believe Eddie is the guy to take us there.
“I think we saw enough in the last two Tests in Australia to know we are heading in the right direction. If we have all the players we want fit and ready to play, we believe it is a really strong and powerful squad going into 2023.”
Sweeney has confirmed, nevertheless, that the RFU received plenty of feedback from England fans unhappy at the team’s disappointing efforts in the last two Six Nations campaigns and that the 2023 championship would be an important staging post. “To be competitive in a World Cup you’ve got to be able to beat France and Ireland along the way – not just southern hemisphere teams,” said Sweeney, who could not travel to Australia after suffering a pulmonary embolism earlier this year.
“We feel we are on track for 2023 but it’s coming out of that transition phase now into putting consistent performances together back-to-back. We have a demanding set of fans, they’re not shy about making their feelings known and that comes in to the RFU. When we’re not doing well that’s pointed out in pretty direct terms. You can only talk about transition for so long, you need to also deliver the results. Eddie was under intense pressure.”
Jones’s past record in World Cups, including guiding England to the 2019 final, has long been among the factors that “rank pretty highly” in the RFU’s strategic thinking but the identity of Jones’s post-2023 successor remains up in the air. Sweeney made little attempt to downplay Twickenham’s admiration of Ireland’s head coach Andy Farrell – “He’s doing well, isn’t he?” – but insists the RFU has not yet identified their preferred option.
“He’s regarded very highly but we also have a huge respect for the Irish Rugby Football Union. He’s under contract through to 2023 and then whatever happens after that happens.”
Sweeney also says RFU officials are increasingly concerned about the issue of drunken and boorish spectators at games, following last weekend’s incident in Sydney when Jones was abused by Australian fans, and will shortly be meeting to discuss ways to combat the problem.
The union, meanwhile, is hopeful the long-mooted world club championship will finally happen in 2025 if certain potential logistical issues, not least extra travel and player welfare implications in a Lions year, can be ironed out.
“There is still a long way to go, it’s not a completely done deal yet,” said Sweeney. “But in terms of direction as a union we certainly support it and the clubs are very keen to get it done. We think it can be achieved.”
