Exeter chairman issues hands-off warning to England over coach Baxter
England told to forget about appointing Rob Baxter as successor to outgoing England head coach Eddie Jones… with Exeter chairman Tony Rowe issuing hands-off warning
- Baxter is seen as a leading contender to be the next England head coach
- Jones will leave his role at the conclusion of next year’s World Cup in France
- RFU chief executive Sweeney would prefer the next England boss to be English
The Rugby Football Union has been told to forget its chances of appointing Rob Baxter as successor to outgoing England head coach Eddie Jones.
Australian Jones, who has been in charge since 2015, will leave his role at the conclusion of next year’s World Cup in France and the search for his replacement is underway.
RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney admitted in March he would prefer the next England boss to be English in comments which suggested Baxter and Leicester’s Steve Borthwick, another Gallagher Premiership-winning coach, would be among the leading contenders to take on the role.
Exeter’s Rob Baxter is seen as a leading contender to be the next England head coach
But Exeter chairman and chief executive Tony Rowe has issued a hands-off warning on his director of rugby Baxter.
‘Rob won’t leave. He is committed to Exeter,’ Rowe told Sportsmail.
‘He may be on somebody’s shortlist at Twickenham but I would hazard a very strong guess that his answer would be he’s happy where he is.’
Baxter joined Exeter as a player in 1987 and was club captain for 10 years before becoming head coach in 2009. Since then, he has guided the Chiefs into the Premiership and won two league titles. Last season, Exeter missed out on the Premiership play-offs for the first time since 2016.
Eddie Jones will leave his role at the conclusion of next year’s World Cup in France
Baxter, who is contracted to Exeter on a ‘long term’ deal, is set to take more of a backseat role in the new campaign which begins on Friday.
‘If you look back over the 12 years we’ve been in the Premiership, we haven’t had a change of coach,’ Rowe said. ‘We’re very happy with each other. From my point of view, I’m very happy with the coaching set-up. We’ve rebranded and the coaches are rebuilding our team.’
Elsewhere, World Cup winner Lawrence Dallaglio has urged English rugby’s authorities to work more closely together to ensure more clubs don’t follow Worcester into financial chaos.
On another day of uncertainty at the cash strapped Warriors, it emerged on Wednesday that some of the club’s staff are yet to receive any of their August salaries despite assurances from owners Colin Goldring and Jason Whittingham last week that those payments would be made.
Worcester Warriors are facing financial woes and are struggling to fulfill wages
Worcester will start their Premiership campaign at London Irish on Saturday wearing last season’s kit as they have been unable to pay suppliers O’Neills for their 2022/23 jerseys.
‘The last two to three years have had a massive impact on professional rugby. There are consequences of Covid coming home to roost now,’ said Dallaglio.
Worcester have been hit by a winding-up petition by HM Revenue and Customs over unpaid tax with sources indicating administration is the only way for the club to survive.
‘If I had one wish for this season it would be that the clubs, plus the administrators and broadcasters, work a little bit closer together to make the situation better,’ former England great Dallaglio said. ‘I wouldn’t say rugby is at a crisis point because it’s not, but it is at a point where it needs to decide where it wants to go. We have to do it quickly.’
Meanwhile, the Welsh Rugby Union has followed the RFU in updating its policy on transgender participation. Moving forward, only players who were assigned female at birth will be able to play women’s rugby in Wales.
BT Sport is the home of Gallagher Premiership Rugby. The new season kicks off with Bristol Bears v Bath Rugby at 7pm on BT Sport 1 on Friday 9th September www.bt.com/sport/rugby-union
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