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Why would Eddie Jones return to Australia when he can build a dynasty with England?
By Online Editors
A World Cup triumph with England would only motivate Eddie Jones to see out his contract and "build a dynasty" rather than return as Wallabies coach, according to Tim Horan.
Jones' side will meet South Africa in the final on Saturday, having engineered Australia's demise in the quarter-finals before a dominant win over New Zealand in the semi-finals.
That run has led to widespread cries for Rugby Australia (RA) to prioritise Jones' return to replace Michael Cheika as Wallabies coach.
It is understood RA have contacted Jones to gauge his interest, with the Australian currently contracted to England until 2021.
Horan said, contracted or not, a win on Saturday would give the in-demand coach plenty of reason to remain in Europe.
"I think Australian rugby will look elsewhere," the Wallabies' two-time World Cup winner told Fox Sports.
"They definitely will ask Eddie Jones the question, 'do you want to come back at some stage to Australia and can you break your contract?'
"But you'd expect if you win this World Cup you go back to England and Eddie Jones will build this dynasty of this England team."
New Zealander David Rennie has been tipped to succeed Cheika, while RA are yet to announce the finer details of a review following the side's quarter-final exit.
Jones's least successful stint as an international coach came with the Wallabies, where he had a 58 per cent success rate, winning 33 of 57 games.
That tenure included taking the Wallabies to the 2003 World Cup final, he was sacked after a run of losses in 2005 and has since won a World Cup with South Africa as an assistant to Jake White.
Jones also enjoyed a 73 per cent win rate as Japan's head coach, including an upset victory over South Africa at the 2015 World Cup.
As England coach he has only lost nine of 49 Tests at a win rate of 80 per cent, with Horan pointing to the side's relative youth as a decisive carrot.
"They're still fairly young. (Maro) Itoje is in his early 20s (25), (captain) Owen Farrell about 27 (28). They've got a team that can potentially go on to the next World Cup," he said.
Rassie Erasmus had plenty to say at a mid-week press conference ahead of the World Cup final:
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Latest Comments
John, McKenzie was 10 years ago and he only lasted 15 months until the disgustingly unfair affair that brought him down. I thought that if he didn't get another gig over Eddie V2 then he was done. I read that he had been approached but declined to put his name in the ring.
There are no potential Wallaby coaches outside of McKellar unless you have some inside info?
Go to commentsThe way they are defending is sometime pathetic to be honest. Itoje is usually on the inside of the rush and he is paired with a slower tight forward. Unable to keep up with the rush we have seen the line become disconnected on the inside where the big boys are. How many times have we seen Earl rush past the first receiver almost into no mans land covering no attacker. It looks like a system without any guidance. Tome Wright, Ikitau and a number of Wallabies went back to this soft centre as did Williams, Jordan and several others. Also when the line is broken the multiple lines of defence seems to be missing. The rush is predicated on a cover and recovery system with multiple lines of defence but with England you dont see it any more. Fitness and conditioning seems to be off as well as players are struggling to keep up with the intensity of the rush. Felix Jones has left a huge hole. The whole situation was and is a mess. Why they insist on not letting him go and having him work remotely is beyond me. Its leading to massive negative press and is a hot button issue thats distracting from the squad. Also the communication around Jones and his role has been absolute rubbish and is totally disjointed. While some say he is working remotely and playing a role others are saying theres been no contact. His role has not been defined and so people keep asking and keep getting different answers. England need a clean break from him and need to start over. Whatever reason for his leaving its time to cut the rope before the saga drags the whole Borthwick regime down. As for Joe El Abd well good luck to him. He is being made to look like an amateur by the whole saga and he is being asked to coach a system thats not his and which has been perfected and honed since 2017 by Nienaber, Jones, Erasmus and Co and which was first started by White in 2004. He is literally trying to figure out a system pioneered by double world cup winning coaches at the highest level and coach it at the same time. Talk about being on a hiding to nothing.
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