Reports: England to sack Eddie Jones ahead of potential rugby league switch

Further fuel has been added to the fire that England rugby union head coach Eddie Jones could transition to the NRL.

Following the end of the rugby union autumn series it had been suggested that Jones could be on his way out with the Rugby Football Union (RFU) set to discuss the Australian’s future.

That news came after the worst calendar year by way of results since 2008 and with only nine months before the Union World Cup, the RFU felt it necessary to either back or sack Jones.

The Sydney Morning Herald are reporting that the decision could well be to sack the well-established coach and that would line up with the RFU chief executive’s, Bill Sweeney, comments last week.

The Herald reported: “Eddie Jones will split with the RFU on Monday (5th December), his seven-year reign as England coach over just nine months before the World Cup in France.”

This follows Sweeney’s comments last week: “Like them (the fans) we are really disappointed with the results of the Autumn Nations Series. Despite strong individual performances and some great new talent coming into the team, the overall results are not where we expect them to be.”

Pairing the reports from the Herald with the clear discontent at the RFU, Jones could well be on his way out and the NRL is something he’s always dreamed of.

During the summer, having visited the NRL champion Penrith Panthers, he spoke to 9News about the potential switch.

“If there was an opportunity there (in the NRL) I would jump at it, but the reality is it’s probably not going to be there,” explained Jones.

“That (the South Sydney Rabbitohs job) would be the dream team. That would be the dream.

“From the age of five, I’ve supported Souths. That would be fantastic (to coach the Rabbitohs). I loved the old teams with Ronnie Coote, Bob McCarthy, John Sattler and Eric Simms.”

With his sacking potentially imminent, it’s definitely not too late for the 62-year-old to coach in the NRL, doing the opposite of successful coaches union coaches Andy Farrell and Shaun Edwards, who have forged their way into union despite coming from a league background.