CONFIRMED: England pull the pin on Eddie's World Cup dream as assistant steps up as interim coach

Update: Eddie Jones has been sacked as England coach, the Rugby Football Union confirmed on Tuesday.

The Australian presented to a RFU panel on Monday afternoon (UK time), but he was unable to convince them that he was the right man to coach England through to next year’s World Cup. Assistant coach “Richard Cockerill will take over the day to day running of the men’s performance team,” a statement revealed.

As earlier reported, Sweeney met with Jones on Tuesday morning to deliver the news. Jones was seen leaving Twickenham mid-morning following the meeting, as he jogged to a nearby taxi.

The terms and conditions of his exit have yet to be nutted out, but it is understood he will receive a payout of more than $AU1 million.

“It is important to recognise the huge contribution Eddie has made to English rugby, winning three Six Nations Championships, one Grand Slam and taking us to a Rugby World Cup Final,” Sweeney said in a statement.

“He has the highest win ratio of any previous England head coach and has helped develop the leadership skills of many players and coaches. I am grateful to Eddie for all he has done for England across many areas of the game and the professional way in which he has approached reviewing the performance of the team. He has provided the panel with astute insight and meaningful lessons that will support the team performance going forward.”

Sources say Jones believed the interview went as well as it possibly could have, but there was a feeling emanating out of the RFU that he was a dead man walking.

While Jones won his third Six Nations trophy in 2020, England managed just two wins from five outings in consecutive campaigns. While the RFU decided not to conduct a review off the back of the underwhelming campaign, which ended in defeat in Paris, but the knives were being sharpened before their tour Down Under in July.

A remarkable come-from-behind 2-1 series win in Australia, which saw his record against the Wallabies improve to a staggering 10-1, bought him time and silenced some of his critics. But only some.

Jones attempted to convince the RFU that the governing body had been aware of the Australian’s plan right throughout the past three years and, importantly, that they were supportive of his measures to try and get England to peak at the 2023 World Cup.

Ultimately, the RFU looked past Jones’ strong World Cup record, where he has an 82 per cent winning record – a number that doesn’t include his influential role with the Springboks in 2007, where he was Jake White’s right-hand man during their World Cup success.

“I am pleased with much that we have achieved as an England team and I look forward to watching the team’s performance in the future,” Jones said.

“Many of the players and I will no doubt keep in touch and I wish them all well in their future careers.”

Eddie Jones has been sacked as England head coach. Photo: David Rogers/Getty Images

It is understood Jones was on the nose with England even before their 27-13 loss to the Springboks.

The 14-point loss left Jones’ English side with the worst record since 2008, as they finished the year with five wins, one draw and six defeats.

Defeat to South Africa at Twickenham, their first at the venue since 2014, was met by boos.

Jones, who began his seven-year reign by equalling the tier-one record of 18 consecutive Test victories, finishes as England’s most successful coach from a win-loss metric (73 per cent).

Cockerill – the former Leicester and Edinburgh coach – will take over for the time being, but Steve Borthwick is still the leading candidate to take over England ahead of the World Cup.

Borthwick, who was Jones’ right-hand man with Japan in 2015 and England in 2019, is expected to be parachuted into the role. By COB on Monday in the UK, the Tigers had yet to be asked for a release of their coach.

It is believed Jones would have welcomed Borthwick, who was set to join the rugby powerhouse following 2023 regardless, re-joining the England coaching structure ahead of next year’s World Cup.

Should Borthwick succeed he will have been trained in the Jones school.

The former second-rower was a key alley for two World Cup cycles with Jones, but left England to take over at Leicester as head coach.

He led the Tigers to premiership glory earlier this year, which capped an incredible comeback from the fallen Premiership heavyweights who had finished 11th only two seasons earlier.