Highly-rated coach Felix Jones looks set to depart his role in Steve Borthwick’s England staff, but where will he go next?
After helping the Springboks win two Rugby World Cups, Jones joined England’s coaching team in 2024, taking charge of the team’s defence.
The hard-working and respected coach has earned much praise for his work with England’s defence but has reportedly handed his resignation after becoming “unhappy with an unstable working environment”.
This comes after Aled Walters departed England’s set-up to join Andy Farrell’s Ireland coaching staff.
Return to South Africa
Jones announced that he would be vacating his role with the Springboks ahead of the 2023 Rugby World Cup, where he was a crucial cog in Jacques Nienaber’s coaching team as they clinched back-to-back titles. It was understood at the time that Jones left the role in order to be closer to home, as he was based in the UK during his four-year stint with South Africa.
Following the departure of Jones and Nienaber, Rassie Erasmus was reappointed as head coach and recruited Tony Brown and Jerry Flannery to his staff. While the Bok coaching team is well-stocked, it would not come as a surprise if Erasmus looked to lure Jones back into a role within his team.
“It’s a big loss for the Springboks to lose a coach of Felix’ calibre,” Erasmus said when Jones’ exit was confirmed last year.
“While we are saddened by the decision, we know how difficult it was for him to make that call and we fully understand the reasons. He’s been an asset to the Springboks in the last few years and the way he has evolved in his role and willingly took on additional responsibilities to ensure that the team functioned as optimally as possible in his areas of expertise, has been admirable.”
Jones also spoke fondly of his time with the Boks and could well be tempted to return and work with the world champions once again.
Move to Ireland?
Frankly, it would be outrageously silly if IRFU performance director David Humphreys did not try to tempt Jones to take up a role at one of the provinces or get him in the national coaching set-up. He would slot seamlessly into any one of the four unions and could link up with his former club Munster or even be reunited with Nienaber at Leinster. Ulster and Connacht could also do with a coach of his expertise and, while Farrell’s coaching team is also well-stocked, he would be a handy addition.
Jones surprisingly left Munster in 2019 after rejecting a contract extension so perhaps a return to the men in red may not be on his shortlist. Still, it would be egregious of the IRFU to not make a move for the ex-Ireland international, who is widely regarded as one of the best and brightest young coaches in the world and one who has already won two World Cups.
Wales or France?
A more left-field pick but Warren Gatland could be tempted to swoop for Jones to bolster his coaching team. Wales have yet to win a Test match this year and the young squad could do with having such a bright coach assisting them.
Joining Gatland’s staff would also suit Jones as he would still be able to live in Dublin and travel far less than he would need to if he rejoined the Springboks. Jones was an attack coach with South Africa and led the defence with England and, while Gatland has Alex King and Mike Forshaw employed in those roles, he could get the talented coach in to assist in multiple areas of Wales’ game.
One has to think that at least one French Top 14 club will enter the race for Jones’ services, whether he heads across the Channel as an assistant or lands his first head coach gig. If Jones is looking to fill his coffers, then he is most likely going to get his biggest offer from a French club but the challenge that the Top 14 poses could also excite Jones. Perhaps his former Munster teammate Ronan O’Gara would be keen to add his services to La Rochelle’s coaching team.
Jones’s Next Move
If Jones does leave his position with England, he is set to be overloaded with offers and he could certainly be picky with what he wants his next challenge to be and whoever does secure his services would be getting a fantastic coach.
England’s Coaching Crisis
Jones has been an important figure for England since his recruitment 10 months ago from South Africa, who he helped win back to back World Cups under the guidance of Rassie Erasmus. The 37-year-old former Ireland international was responsible for introducing the blitz defence that was starting to bear fruit after some teething problems early in the Six Nations. Its aggressive nature troubled New Zealand in July when England fell to narrow defeats in Dunedin and Auckland.
News of his surprise departure comes in the wake of the head of strength and conditioning, Aled Walters, dropping an equally unexpected bombshell by defecting to Ireland.
Walters was an influential voice on the training field whose involvement extended beyond his S&C duties and he was joined through the exit door by Tom Tombleson, a long-serving member of the conditioning staff.
The uncertainty surrounding the England management team includes Kevin Sinfield, the rugby league great who was demoted to skills coach to accommodate Jones’s arrival. Sinfield was poised to step down after the recent tour to Japan and New Zealand but his popularity amongst the players, as well as his experience, was seen as too valuable to lose. However, an extension of his stay and in what capacity has yet to be confirmed.
Jones’s desire to leave is understood to be linked to Walters’ departure, with the two forming a strong working relationship while serving under Erasmus with Munster and then South Africa. But the churn of backroom staff – a destructive theme of the Eddie Jones era – also asks questions of Borthwick’s methods.
The attack coach Richard Wigglesworth, scrum coach Tom Harrison and coaching consultant Andrew Strawbridge are now the only confirmed members of Borthwick’s management team heading into the autumn. The All Blacks’ visit to Twickenham on 2 November opens a schedule that continues with fixtures against Australia, South Africa and Japan and it remains to be seen if Jones will be involved. Borthwick will see the development as a huge setback having repeatedly hailed the impact made by Jones, whose knowledge he has described as “groundbreaking”.
