3 Key Decisions Facing Eddie Jones at Start of His Role as England Coach

The RFU have their man, and the Stormers presumably have an awful lot of compensation.

Eddie Jones has swapped Table Mountain for Twickenham to become the next head coach of England, with the task of taking them from pool-stage flops to top of the world in 2019. 

The Australian who worked miracles with Japan has far more resources at his disposal as the head honcho of the Red Rose brigade, and his employers will be looking for plenty of bang for their buck from the 55-year-old.

There is plenty in the new head coach's in-tray, with these three items top of the list.

Let's take a look at the first major calls he will have to make.

Jones has said he will assess the current coaches before making his mind up about them. But it is highly likely that he will want his own men to make up his coaching staff, which would spell the end of the line for Mike Catt, Andy Farrell and Graham Rowntree.

During his time with Japan, Jones preferred a more specific allocation of coaching jobs based on the way he structured his backroom staff when in charge of Japan.

Steve Borthwick, who could join the Australian’s staff despite taking up a new role as Bristol’s forwards coach, was not overall forwards coach but solely in charge of the lineout, with Frenchman Marc Del Maso running the scrum and former Newport Gwent Dragons coach Leigh Jones masterminding the breakdown, per Stuart Barnes of the Times.

This may be the same format Jones decides to apply to the setup he installs at Twickenham, but Worcester Warriors boss and Guardian columnist Dean Ryan said this would be a bad thing.

His big challenge must be to convince a No1 from the Premiership to be his No2. The national team needs more head coaches in it, rather than breaking everything down into the smallest possible areas of forwards coach, scrum coach, lineout coach, kicking coach and so on. So there has to be the responsibility to develop an England head coach for the future.

Indeed, in his first press conference after accepting the job, the former Randwick man seemed in step with Ryan's thinking, per the Guardian: “One of the goals is to have assistant coaches who by 2019 are ready to takeover. I’m sure we can do that. There are good coaches in England.”

Another name he could well turn to as part of his team is the other man initially tipped for the top job. Jake White was the only coach among those mentioned heavily in the media who most openly courted the position.

Per ESPN.co.uk, he has now declared his loyalty to his current French employer, but having used Jones as an assistant in the Springboks’ World Cup-winning campaign of 2007, could the South African be tempted to fulfil the same role under Jones?

Jones' opinion was regularly sought on the state of the England team during the World Cup, and he was never backwards in coming forwards with his views.

One such topic was the skipper, Chris Robshaw. Ahead of England's doomed attempt to beat Australia, Jones left no one in any doubt as to how he rated the Harlequin, per the Daily Mail:

To me, Robshaw is an outstanding club player, but at international level he just doesn't have that point of difference. He carries okay, he tackles okay, but he's not outstandingly good in any area. I think that is his limiting factor. He's a good workmanlike player, but he does not have the specialist skills and the instinct as an openside that (Australia's David) Pocock has.

In light of those comments, and the general feeling that England were a poorer side without the selection of a genuine No. 7 in the mould of a David Pocock or Michael Hooper, the odds on Jones retaining Robshaw as a starter, let alone as the captain, must be lengthy.

Who to turn to as Robshaw's successor? Tom Wood was close to winning the job over his back-row colleague when Stuart Lancaster made his choice, but with the whole back-row area under scrutiny for its balance and overall effectiveness, Wood can be as uncertain of his place as his colleague on the other side of the scrum. 

Joe Launchbury shone during the tournament, but Jones may feel he is best left to concentrate on his game rather than cope with the added weight of the captaincy.

Dylan Hartley has the abrasive kind of approach Jones often exudes himself, but he could be regarded as too high-risk.

Outside the forwards, Ben Youngs does the job for Leicester and the Australian has previously coached a No. 9 as skipper in the shape of George Gregan.

With so many positions up for grabs, it may well be a case of waiting for a candidate to emerge from the 15 players the new coach sees as his best side.

Jones has already had his say on what he sees as England's traditional strengths—dominant set piece and strong defence.

The former was certainly nothing of the sort during the last World Cup, so the ex-Brumbies coach will need to build up the fearsome reputation the Red Rose forwards used to enjoy.

It's how he gets his players to function behind that unit that will extend his grey matter the most.

He heaped praise on the English back three during the tournament and also queried the decision to drop George Ford for the Wales game that torpedoed England's campaign.

You sense Jones will commit to a more daring back line without sacrificing the regimented organisation and execution we saw from his Japanese players during the tournament.

Deciding on an identity for his team will be the first thing he addresses, and it should inform his decisions about coaches and captain.