It would appear that, behind the scenes, wheels are in motion.
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Sportsmail understands the RFU have made contact with the 55-year-old in Cape Town, where he has just taken up a three-year contract with the Stormers. Determined not to be messed around for a third time, White has called on RFU chief executive Ian Ritchie to install him as the organisation’s top choice before he will consider succeeding Lancaster, who was widely criticised for his lack of top-level experience during England’s World Cup pool stage exit.
The bookmakers are usually well informed and many have suspended betting after the sudden spike in wagers on Jones. He has since had spells with the Brumbies in Australia and the Sharks in Durban, along with a brief stint as a consultant to Tonga, before taking up his current role in France.
Last week saw Lancaster quit as England coach as he paid the price for a poor World Cup which saw England become the first host nation to fail to get out of the group phase.
The 48-year-old coached Leinster to the Heineken Cup title in 2009 and has also been in charge of French club Stade Francais and Australian state side NSW Waratahs.
“I’m an Aussie coaching an Australian team, so it’s pretty much a dream, and I think if you start throwing out those values just for a little bit of money, then you’re not standing for too much are ya?” “It’s the dream. There is nothing that would change my mind”.
“I never thought I’d be coaching Australia”, said Cheika, who as a player never won a Test cap for the Wallabies.
While we don’t know if Cheika was even approached about the role, it’s hardly a positive sign in the search for a successor that such a good candidate is turning his nose up at the job this early on. ‘I haven’t really gone down that road.
“You want to make sure that you give everything when you have the opportunity”, he added.
When order was restored Cheika continued: “It’s not my place to say but I think there’s lots of English coaches who could be coaching England for sure”.
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“If you look like a guy like Dorian West at Northampton, he’s done such a good job with the scrum and forwards”. Warren Gatland, Eddie Jones and Wayne Smith have already done so, as have domestic possibilities, including Jim Mallinder, Mike Ford and Rob Baxter.
