Cape Town – United Kingdom bookmakers have stopped taking bets on newly appointed Stormers coach Eddie Jones replacing fired Stuart Lancaster as supremo of the England rugby team. Meanwhile Australia’s Eddie Jones, the man behind Japan’s stunning World Cup win over South Africa, has insisted he is committed to his new role with the Western Stormers.
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The Rugby Football Union has begun its search for Stuart Lancaster’s successor following the Cumbrian’s departure last week but Cheika, who guided the Wallabies into the World Cup final two weeks ago, is not interested in the post.
“I never thought I’d be coaching Australia”, he said.
The 25-year-old Brumbies playmaker has signed a three-year deal with Leicester from 2017 after exercising a get-out clause in his contract at Canberra-based Super Rugby club.
Cheika, who is in England coaching the Barbarians, told News Corp Australia, Toomua would not be frozen out by the Wallabies.
He continued: “If we look at the World Cup, the difference between the northern and southern hemisphere countries, skill was one important aspect, the other big factor was the latter’s ability to get back in the game”.
“I’m an Australian coaching Australia”.
And he’s not the only one to have said an emphatic “no” to the job: New Zealand’s 2011 World Cup coach Graham Henry, All Blacks assistant Wayne Smith, Ireland’s Joe Schmidt and ex-Italy coach Mallett have all said they don’t want the job. “I think if we had made him fight for it a bit more we may have seen a better Sam Burgess”.
Lancaster paid the price for England’s dismal World Cup in which they failed to reach the knock-out phase, stepping down in a decision the RFU board “unanimously accepted”.
He said: “No, no. I have an enormous amount of respect and saw the guys throughout the World Cup and understood exactly what they were doing and how they were doing it and was really impressed by everything”.
While the RFU are seemingly gearing up to appoint England’s first foreign head coach, Cheika made a pitch on behalf of the home-grown candidates who are destined to be overlooked. You have an idea of what you want and you grow that. Jim Mallinder, Rob Baxter, Dean Richards…
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“I know that sounds like utopia but I believe that when you work that way, plan that way, you’ll get benefits in the short term as well”. I’m into that style of thing.
