“England have won two of the last three under-20s World Cups so there’s great talent out there”.
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The RFU board were updated about developments on Tuesday night but the biggest stumbling block to the deal going ahead could be the amount of compensation the governing body will have to pay the South African franchise, which will be a minimum of £700,000.
It seems obvious but Jones, England’s first overseas coach, must try to establish a good rapport with the clubs who will be supplying him with his players.
Jones led Australia to the final of the 2003 World Cup, where they lost to England, and was widely credited for his influence as a technical advisor when the Springboks were crowned champions four years later.
The decision was widely expected after the former Japan coach stepped down from his role with the Stormers in South Africa, which he only started after this year’s Rugby World Cup.
“When the chance comes to coach Australia, you don’t say no to that”.
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.
Jones has always been a fan of tapping into other sports for knowledge and advice, and preparations for Japan’s successful 2015 Rugby World Cup campaign proved no exception.
“I’m an Australian coaching Australia – it’s like the dream”, he said.
“There’s non-negotiables to coaching an worldwide team – you have to have experience, you have to have a winning method and you have to show you can work with that union”, Jones told Japan’s Foreign Correspondents’ Club this month.
While we wait for the world to wake up to the worst kept secret in rugby, it’s interesting to note that all the “home nations” are now led by Southern Hemisphere coaches.
England lock Geoff Parling insists that whoever takes over as the team’s new head coach will inherit a strong squad, despite their recent World Cup disappointment.
Jones’ first game in charge will be England’s Six Nations opener against Scotland on 6 February.
“When I was appointed at Western Province Rugby there was no vacancy within England and I never envisaged this opportunity to come forward”, Jones said.
RFU Chief Executive Ian Ritchie said the search for Stuart Lancaster’s successor was made easier because Eddie Jones was the outstanding candidate: “We promised to recruit a coach with proven global experience and we have done that”.
Australia coach Michael Cheika joined a growing list of high-profile figures who said they did not want the England job on Monday.
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‘Despite all the speculation since the World Cup, and given what he achieved with Japan, Eddie came to us on Wednesday with an offer from the RFU, which was simply impossible for any coach to turn down, ‘ Wakefield said.
