Next England Rugby Head Coach: Who will succeed Eddie Jones?

So Eddie Jones' glittering but sometimes stuttering seven year reign as England rugby union head coach is over. The Australian has been rumoured to be unpopular with the top brass at Twickenham for some time now and they have finally acted in dismissing the Australian.

Across the rugby union world, chatter will now revolve around who can take over and deliver a successful World Cup campaign in 2023 for the Red Rose. There are plenty of names in the picture and here at BettingOdds we have profiled the leading contenders...

Steve Borthwick

It's looking increasingly likely the RFU will opt for Steve Borthwick, current Leicester Tigers director of rugby, to succeed the man who was his boss not long ago.

The former England, Bath and Saracens star began his coaching career under Jones as his assistant when coaching Japan, before following his mentor to the Red Rose as forwards coach when Jones was appointed back in 2015.

In total he has spent a whopping seven years working underneath the recently sacked England boss and surely questions would be asked if he were to be appointed over his similarities to the man the RFU just booted out of the job.

Borthwick was captain of England for two years and made 57 appearances for the national team in his esteemed career, so this playing record paired with his coaching experience with England exemplifies his knowledge of what it would take to succeed in the role.

The Leicester side he led of course won the Premiership in 2021/22, but this season they have looked off the pace. If Borthwick is appointed, expect him to go all out to bring rugby league legend Kevin Sinfield with him onto the coaching staff from the Tigers.

Richard Cockerill

This would be a strange appointment given Richard Cockerill's association with the newly sacked head coach Jones.

He is also tarred with the same brush as Jones in that he is seen as a bit of yesterday's man in coaching terms. His best years as a head coach were undoubtedly in his spell at Leicester, culminating in two Premiership titles on the spin in 08/09 and 09/10. He oversaw a downturn at the Tigers after this, however, and was finally dismissed in 2016 before taking over at Edinburgh.

Four mediocre years in Scotland followed before he was appointed forwards coach under Jones after his dismissal north of the border. It is hard to imagine players not responding to Jones would be thrilled to see one of his right hand men take over as head coach, so his odds look on the skinny side.

Rob Baxter

Currently director of rugby at his beloved Exeter, Rob Baxter was a one club man over a 14 year career and has excelled in his coaching career with the Chiefs since retirement.

His impact when appointed head coach was immediate, in his first season the Chiefs won promotion into the Premiership. His impressive work saw him appointed to the England coaching staff in 2013. 

The undoubted highlight of Baxter's legendary career at Exeter was their first Premiership win in 2016/17, but he has also tasted success on the European stage when his side won the 2019/20 European Champions Cup just a week before securing another Premiership crown.

Baxter is a legend of the game and would be a popular appointment, however the prospect of him leaving Exeter seems remote. 

Scott Robertson

If the RFU decide a full reboot is needed, Scott Robertson will be one of the first names they aim for.

The former Crusaders coach who won six titles with the team and former All Blacks player has impressed many with the job he has done in the Southern Hemisphere and although there may be some resistance to another foreign coach after seven years of the Australian Jones, Robertson's coaching credentials are unquestionable.

Many All Blacks fans have called for Robertson to take over the most iconic name in world rugby, but the NZRU don't seem keen and so if he wants a gig at the 2023 World Cup the England job may be his best bet.

Ronan O'Gara

One of Ireland's all time greatest players, Ronan O'Gara has spoken in the past of his interest in working in the international arena and will be high up the RFU's list.

A tremendously skillful player with an eye for a risky play, he has taken his playing style into his coaching career with French side La Rochelle and his innovative keep the ball alive philosophy.

O'Gara is undoubtedly one of the best young coaches in the game with a brilliant rugby mind, but his disciplinary problems across the Channel could be his undoing.

After a six week suspension for questioning the integrity of match officials earlier in his career in France, he is now serving a TEN week ban for a similar offence.

The bosses at the RFU hold England, rightly or wrongly, as some sort of bastion of the best of English society, and so could be reluctant to appoint such a clearly hot headed candidate to be the face of the organisation.

Any other outsiders?

Two bona-fide rugby league and Wigan legends have made names for themselves in the 15 man code with their phenomenal coaching achievements in Andy Farrell and Shaun Edwards.

It would be a serious coup if the RFU could get either out of their respective gigs with Ireland and France so close to the World Cup, however with both being English it would surely be a tempting offer to lead their home nation into a World Cup.

Both men have done tremendous jobs both in past roles and in their current positions, with Farrell in particular transforming Ireland into the number one ranked nation in World Rugby.

The prospect of a father-son combination of Andy and Owen coaching and playing for England at the World Cup would be any sports-desk's dream, however it seems a longshot.