RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney insists it is not just “blind faith” convincing him that Eddie Jones is the right man to lead England at next year’s World Cup.
England endured another disappointing Six Nations this year, winning just two of their five games for the second championship in a row, but Jones has been fully backed by the RFU.
The governing body showed their continued support with a statement last Sunday and Sweeney reaffirmed it again yesterday.
The chief executive has admitted that England’s results in the Six Nations were not acceptable, but he remains adamant that Jones is the best coach for the job moving forward.
“On what we know now and what we feel and what we see, and it’s not just emotional or blind faith, yes, yes we do [feel Jones is the right man to lead England into the World Cup],” he said.
“You look at the atmosphere after the Ireland game. And the the the narrative that came out after the Ireland game, a turning point; the galvanisation of this team; one of those moments that could transform a squad to go on to better things.
“You hope they can bottle it and carry it through to France. France are second in the world. That’s a team that has been in development for three years. We put 60 points on them four years ago.
“That was an intimidating place to play on a Saturday night, it was absolutely humming and a really good experience for young players to experience that now.
“They’re a good team. They’re a really good team. They’ve got strength in depth, and they’re on a bit of a roll.
“But do we think that we’re going in the right direction to be able to close that gap? Yeah, we do.”
There was a fierce backlash to the RFU’s statement last Sunday, which said England had made “good progress” and “strong positive steps” during the Six Nations, and Sweeney has admitted the tone was wrong.
He has also dismissed the idea that Jones is somehow immune from facing the sack.
Asked if Jones was bulletproof, he said: “No, he’s not. No one is bulletproof. No one is indispensable. I’m not indispensable.
“Anyone can go at any particular time but that happens when there is a loss of confidence.
“People stay in their role because there is a belief that you are still heading in the right direction, even when, sometimes, the results might not back that up.
“You make a call, you make a judgement; are we heading in the right direction? If we felt we weren’t heading in the right direction, of course he’s not bulletproof. He knows that himself.”
