England's decision to sack Jones was 'surprising' insists Steve Hansen

‘He’s been their most successful coach in HISTORY’: Steve Hansen casts doubt on England’s ‘pretty surprising’ decision to sack Eddie Jones… with replacement Steve Borthwick having less than a year to prepare for the World Cup

  • Eddie Jones was sacked by RFU boss Bill Sweeney after disappointing form 
  • Former assistant Steve Borthwick was confirmed as Jones’ successor
  • Steve Hansen has described the decision by the RFU as ‘pretty surprising’
  • Borthwick has less than a year to prepare England ahead of the World Cup 

England’s decision to dispense with the services of Eddie Jones has been described as ‘pretty surprising’ by two-time World Cup winner Steve Hansen.

Jones was sacked as England head coach by his RFU boss Bill Sweeney after leading his team to just one win in a disappointing November campaign.

On Monday, Steve Borthwick was confirmed as Jones’ successor less than a year out from the 2023 World Cup. Borthwick has no time to lose as he looks to get his England era up and running.

Eddie Jones was sacked as England head coach after a disappointing November campaign

But Hansen, who won the World Cup with New Zealand in 2011 and 2015 and is an old adversary of Jones, has cast doubt on whether Sweeney’s call was the right one.

Hansen said: ‘It was pretty surprising they (the RFU) would replace him (Jones) now, when all along Eddie’s been saying “Look, this is what we’re building for”.

‘He’s been their most successful coach in history. Some might say that (Sir) Clive (Woodward) is because he won a World Cup. However, the record speaks for itself, doesn’t it?

‘I know Eddie had a big focus on the World Cup and that’s probably what cost him because he didn’t have such a good autumn and people were frustrated by that.

‘But obviously it’s their business and they’ve got to do what they think is right. Eddie’s moved on, so the rest of us can too.’

Steve Hansen said the decision was ‘pretty surprising’ less than a year from the World Cup, as he also called Jones England’s ‘most successful coach in history’ over Sir Clive Woodward

Steve Borthwick, Jones’ former assistant, now has to gear up England for the World Cup

England won 18 successive Tests under Jones’ guidance, but their performances fell away after reaching the 2019 World Cup final where they were beaten by South Africa.

Borthwick, a former assistant of Jones at both England and Japan, is now the man in charge.

Since being sacked by England, Jones has maintained he was coaching as well as ever and that his World Cup plan was on track.

The Australian has already confirmed he will make a dramatic return to Twickenham on May 28 next year when he coaches the Barbarians at the home of English rugby.

Jones’ Barbarians side will be up against a World XV coached by Hansen.

The last time the two went up against each other was in the 2019 World Cup semi-finals. England produced one of the best performances of Jones’ era to beat Hansen’s New Zealand 19-7.

Jones will make a dramatic return to Twickenham when he coaches the Barbarians next May

‘You relish every chance to go against Eddie,’ Hansen said.

‘We’ve known each other for a long, long time and he’s a good rugby man.

‘He cares about the game a lot and I consider myself someone who cares about the game too. It’s an opportunity to be able to be part of something that could be quite special on the day.

‘With Eddie, you’ve got to expect the unexpected because one of his great attributes is his ability to analyse the opposition and set traps for them. He’s a great planner – that’s why he’s been so successful with so many sides in different World Cups, having won one with South Africa.

‘Obviously he was building towards the one in 2023 and he’s now not going to be there which is unfortunate for him.

‘But being the man he is, he’ll move on quickly. He’ll still want England to do well.

‘He’ll want to come to Twickenham come the end of May and play a good brand of footy and he’ll want to win too because he’s a pretty competitive bloke.’




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