England coach Eddie Jones. Picture: Screenshot/Twitter

Eddie Jones. Picture: Screenshot/Twitter

Rugby: Will Eddie Jones stay on as England coach?

Tense times ahead for Jones.

England coach Eddie Jones. Picture: Screenshot/Twitter

Eddie Jones. Picture: Screenshot/Twitter

While the general feeling in the Springbok camp would have been one of disappointment, following their 25-10 defeat to England at Newlands on Saturday, the mood in the opposite camp would have been one of relief, particularly for the man in the hot seat, Eddie Jones, who’s charges avoided a sixth straight defeat.

Prior to their victory, England had last been triumphant in a Test match back in February, when they defeated Wales at Twickenham, in only the second round of their woeful Six Nations campaign.

Jones was forced to bring a depleted side to South Africa, which would still have fancied their chances of a series win against a Springbok side also in a rebuilding phase after an indifferent two years under Allister Coetzee.

A scoreline of 24-3 in the first quarter of the opening Test at Ellis Park would have given the idea that the Englishmen were en route to inflicting another record defeat on the men in green and gold, reminiscent of a couple of thrashings sustained in the disastrous 2017 campaign, but that was not to be as Rassie Erasmus’ charges rallied back for a 42-39 win in a Highveld thriller.

The second dig in Bloemfontein followed much of the same script, but at a lesser scale, as the home side once again clawed their way back into the contest to clinch the series with a game to spare.

With five defeats on the trot, England – under Jones – were a mere shadow of the outfit that was previously tipped to give the All Blacks a run for their title.

Will Eddie Jones stay on as England coach?

According to The Guardian, the Rugby Football Union (RFU) is in a patient wait for Jones to jet into the United Kingdom for a review of the tour to the southern tip of Africa.

The RFU have stressed that they stand behind Jones despite the disappointing outcome of the tour which, rather unfortunately, comes directly after England’s worst Six Nations campaign in recent memory.

RFU chair, Andy Cosslett stressed that although Saturday’s result was a positive, there are other things which need to be considered.

“Last night’s win was great and fantastic for everyone involved but you have to keep a sense of proportion.”

The RFU could however be persuaded to continue with the incumbent for the sake of continuity, with just a little over a year to go before the World Cup takes place in Japan, and can only hope that the little period of difficulty the senior men’s national team has just endured can serve as a learning curve for both coach and his young charges.

Jones can also look forward to being able to field a host of returnees, including regular skipper, Dylan Hartley, who will likely be back from injury when the new northern hemisphere international season begins later this year.

The Australian also has another three years remaining in his contract, having had it extended into January this year, shortly before the nightmarish run commenced.

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