Eddie Jones insisted that a key change was made to the RFU statement telling fans that he had been 'dismissed' from his role as England head coach.
The Daily Mail have reported that Jones was adamant that the words 'dismissed' was used instead of the RFU's preferred term of 'parted ways'. The Australian was the most successful England have ever had after 59 wins from 81 Tests but was given his marching orders yesterday after a poor run of form in the Autumn internationals.
In a headline statement from the RFU the wording was: " Following a review of the Autumn, Eddie Jones has been dismissed from the position of England men's head coach."
The decision came from the RFU review panel met on Monday afternoon and decided to relieve Jones of his duties. The process of sacking Jones, who was contracted until after next year's World Cup, is expected to cost the RFU between £650,000 and £700,000.
"I am pleased with much that we have achieved as an England team and I look forward to watching the team’s performance in the future," said Jones in the same statement released by the RFU. "Many of the players and I will no doubt keep in touch and I wish them all well in their future careers."
During his seven years at the helm Jones led England to three Six Nations titles, including a Grand Slam in 2016, two series wins in Australia and an unbeaten run of 18 matches. He will also be remembered for leading England to the Rugby World Cup final in 2019.
After agreeing to the words 'dismissed' being used RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney praised Jones for his run as England head coach.
"He has the highest win ratio of any previous England men's head coach and has helped develop the leadership skills of many players and coaches," Sweeney added. "I am grateful to Eddie for all he has done for England across many areas of the game and the professional way in which he has approached reviewing the performance of the team."
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Steve Borthwick is set to replace Jones as England head coach ahead of the Six Nations which begin in February ahead of September's World Cup in France.
However, it's set to be an expensive change for England as they pay off Jones and also compensate Leicester Tigers, where Borthwick is head coach with nine months remaining on his contract. Borthwick worked with the England squad under Jones for five years between 2015-2020.
