RugbyU: Eddie Jones Would Have Been Worth Waiting For: RFU Boss

LONDON, , (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 20th Dec, 2016 ) - Eddie Jones would have become England coach even if he had insisted on seeing out the first year of his contract with The Stormers, Rugby Football Union chief executive Ian Ritchie told The Times.

Ritchie, whose own position was in some doubt after England's disastrous first round exit at the 2015 World Cup they hosted, admits he knew Jones would bring a 'certain amount of arrogance', a very different trait to his down to earth predecessor Stuart Lancaster.

That allied to Australian Jones's sublime coaching and motivational skills has proven a triumphant combination as England have gone through 2016 winning all 13 Tests -- including the Six Nations Grand Slam and a historic 3-0 series win in Australia.

Ritchie admits however, he and the RFU were prepared to wait for their man had 56-year-old Jones and South African Super Rugby franchise the Stormers insisted on him staying for at least a season.

As a fallback option they would have installed Lancaster's assistants, Andy Farrell, Mike Catt and Graham Rowntree as caretaker coaches. "If it had been absolutely impossible and we couldn't have done it, we would still have gone for the longer-term option and had some sort of holding operation," said Ritchie of the alternative of the troika staying on.

"That was always a possibility. That's what we would have done," added Ritchie, formerly chief executive of the All England Club responsible for running Wimbledon, Ritchie thought at first on landing in Cape Town last November he had no chance of securing Jones's signature simply because of the breathtaking scenery.