After weeks of speculation and rumours, Eddie Jones has departed as England's coach, just nine months before the 2023 Rugby World Cup kicks off in Paris.
Jones, who led England to the final in 2019, and is renowned as a World Cup specialist, has paid the price after England clambered their way through their worst year of test rugby since 2008.
England lost three games in the Six Nations, to Ireland, Scotland, and France, before a summer defeat to the Barbarians was followed by an Autumn Series in which England only won once.
Simply put, Jones has been on thin ice for quite some time - but reports in the English media this week have furthered speculation it was not merely the on-field performances which drove the Aussie out of the job.
Eddie Jones: Reports suggest fallout with England squad
In a report in the Times on Tuesday evening, it was revealed that the review of Eddie Jones' position as England coach uncovered some ugly truths about the atmosphere in the England dressing room.
The report suggests that Jones had created a "draining" environment for players, and that fallouts with specific players had begun during a trying Six Nations.
These kinds of reports from the English camp are not necessarily new - Jones has been criticised in the past for his treatment of backroom staff. However, the report in the Times suggests that Jones had begun to fall out with the players in the England squad over the course of 2022, putting a ticking clock on his time in the job.
12 March 2022; England head coach Eddie Jones before the Guinness Six Nations Rugby Championship match between England and Ireland at Twickenham Stadium in London, England. Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile
A Six Nations campaign which saw England claim just two wins, and suffer defeat to rivals Scotland and Ireland, had tensions running high in the England camp, and the Times report suggests that those tensions led to a severe fallout with Saracens man Max Malins.
Malins was allegedly reduced to tears by scathing criticism from Jones, who slammed the Sarries back's body language and dumped him from the squad. The Times claim that incidents like these across the year made Jones unpopular with the squad, and ultimately made his position untenable.
There have been plenty of ex-pros and pundits calling for Jones' head in the wake of England's shocking 2022, and the reports of disharmony in the England camp would appear to justify the decision to sack the Australian coach.
It will be fascinating to see if another team will take a gamble on Jones either ahead of or in the aftermath of the France World Cup. Jones is a World Cup specialist, leading Australia to the 2003 final, and masterminding the iconic Japanese win over South Africa in 2015.
Nonetheless, the reports of the atmosphere in the England camp will perhaps have potential employers thinking twice before going to Eddie Jones in future.
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