Eddie Jones has insisted he “wouldn’t do anything differently” despite his England sacking as he refused to rule out a Rugby World Cup switch to rivals Australia.
Jones was dismissed by the RFU on December 6 after seven years as head coach, after England’s worst set of calendar-year results since 2008.
Steve Borthwick has been installed as the new head coach, with Jones denied the chance to lead England into a second World Cup.
Jones is a free agent and can now take up any job he wants, with Australia interested in adding him to the Wallabies set-up. And the 62-year-old refused to rule out joining the Australia side, having previously coached his home nation between 2001 and 2005.
Asked if he could coach an England rival at the World Cup, Jones told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “It’s not about coaching an England rival, it’s about I want to add to the game. I love the game, I love coaching.”
Jones revealed he felt his dismissal coming with England, as the Red Rose side managed just one win from four autumn Tests.
The vastly-experienced Australian was determined to place World Cup performance as paramount, but ultimately paid the price with his job across a 2022 comprising just five wins from 12 Tests.
“I could feel the change in the wind. You know when you’ve been coaching for a while, you feel when your support is starting to wane,” said Jones.
“I wouldn’t do anything differently. I was quite confident that we were on the right track, leading up to the World Cup. And I still have that belief. But if others don’t share that, then that’s their decision.”
Defending his stance of building towards the 2023 World Cup above all else, Jones continued: “The World Cup is the ultimate trophy. If you look at the football for instance, the only team people are going to remember over the last four years is Argentina now.”
