Premiership coaches question RFU succession policy

9:00 PM GMT

• 

  Tom HamiltonRugby Editor

  Close

  • Joined ESPN in 2011
  • Grew up in Bath but has New Zealand roots
  • Covered England's tour of New Zealand in 2014 and Australia in 2016
  • Was ESPN's man on the ground for the 2013 British & Irish Lions series and Rugby World Cup 2015

Aviva Premiership coaches have questioned the logic behind the Rugby Football Union encouraging prospective England coach candidates to seek overseas experience.

Ian Ritchie, the RFU's CEO, has challenged future successors to Eddie Jones "to go and get some international experience".

Jones' contract is up in 2019 and when he took the job, one of his tasks was to put in place a succession plan from within his coaching staff, but if no suitable candidate fits the RFU's criteria, then Ritchie has not ruled out looking abroad or even attempting to persuade Jones to prolong his stay with England.

Exeter boss Rob Baxter feels the approach of talking about an ideal candidate to replace Jones is potentially counter-intuitive. He is widely considered to be an option as a future England coach, having taken Exeter from the Championship to the Premiership final, but hasn't got the requisite international experience.

"The RFU has to find the best man for the job and if they believe that's the case and the right person is overseas -- someone who's been coaching abroad then fine," Baxter said, talking at the launch of this season's Champions Cup. "For me, it's a little odd that the governing body wants the best coaches in the country, to leave the country. To me that's not a pathway."

Baxter also asked rhetorically, "where is this example of an established Premiership coach failing as the England coach?", referencing Jones' predecessors Martin Johnson -- who came into the England job having never coached -- and Stuart Lancaster, whose time in charge of Yorkshire Carnegie was hardly remarkable but then developed his reputation as a top level coach within the RFU's system.

Jim Mallinder, Northampton Saints' director of rugby, believes a coach "getting as many experiences as he possibly can, can't be a bad thing" but agrees with Baxter about Premiership coaches not really being considered for the top England post in the past.

Both have experience of coaching within the RFU's systems while Exeter's Ali Hepher was on their June tour of South Africa. And for Mallinder the experience was not dissimilar to coaching at Northampton.

He said: "Coaching a side is coaching a side. It's getting a group of players working all together towards one goal. That's what coaching is."

Saracens boss Mark McCall, who has experience of coaching at Ulster and Castres, says working abroad does not necessarily mean you are ready for international duty and also pointed to the experience Leicester's Richard Cockerill and Saints' Mallinder have following years of service in the Premiership.

"That experience is pretty good," McCall said. "I don't think they need to go to New Zealand to be able to coach England."

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Premiership coaches question RFU succession policy