Eddie Jones confirmed as England coach

Australian Eddie Jones has been appointed coach of the England rugby team on a four-year contract starting in December, the Rugby Football Union said on Friday.

The 55-year-old former Wallabies and Japan coach replaces Stuart Lancaster, who stepped down in the wake of the hosts’ pool-stage exit from the World Cup, and is the first foreign coach to lead England.

The canny 55-year-old Australian has an unrivalled knowledge of the game and charisma to spare but behind the habitual cheeky grin is a sometimes sharp-tongued man with huge confidence in his own ideas and methods.

Coming to the end of his contract in Japan, he said he was proud of what he achieved with a startling performance in this year’s Rugby World Cup, defeating South Africa’s Springboks in their opening match.

“It has been real fun to take a team that was previously a joke in the world to a team that’s now respected in the world,” he said in Japan earlier this month. “It’s happened because the players have worked so hard. We’ve had a Rugby Union that has supported us well and we’ve been able to develop a unique style of play for the Japanese team.”

He left Japan because of what he perceived as the lack of ambition at the Japan Rugby Union and, as a man who understands the importance of the media, any gripes he has will not remain within the halls of “Headquarters” for long.

The task of transforming the fortunes of an underachieving giant of world rugby, particularly given the large pool of players and financial resources available to him, will certainly appeal, however.

With the Six Nations only a couple of months away, he will have to move quickly to identify the “point of difference” that England can bring to the game and the personnel to achieve it.

A move away from the power-obsessed, no-risk rugby that was so badly exposed at the World Cup can be expected.

Eddie Jones is infused with the Australian belief in creative attacking rugby and it is almost inconceivable that England’s backline will not improve under his tutelage.

The coach, a former hooker, oversaw some of Australia’s more humiliating days in the scrum during his time in charge of the Wallabies, however, and an experienced assistant to resurrect one of England’s traditional strengths looks a must.

His track record suggests, however, that Jones could have his biggest impact by what he brings to the games that matter most.

Under Stuart Lancaster, England were one win away from grand slams in 2013, 2014 and 2015 and lost their crunch pool games against Wales and Australia at the Rugby World Cup.

Jones steered a Wallabies side in decline to the 2003 World Cup final via a shock victory over the All Blacks in the semi-finals, out-witting New Zealand’s John Mitchell before taking Clive Woodward’s England to extra time in the title decider.

His record with the Wallabies against the All Blacks, the benchmark for all international teams, was five wins and six defeats.

He was an influential advisor to the 2007 World Cup-winning South Africa side and most recently orchestrated one of the biggest upsets in the history of the game when Japan beat the Springboks.