England look to have missed out on the chance to recruit European Cup-winning coach Ronan O’Gara.
The Irishman with the 18-carat coaching reputation has admitted he would be interested in the job. And with Eddie Jones’s future in serious doubt following England’s dismal autumn, he was thought to be high on the RFU’s list of potential replacements.
But sources in France confirmed last night that he is poised to sign a contract extension with La Rochelle and that England will miss out unless they move immediately.
READ MORE: Leave it to Mr O'Brien - Jimmy the man for the job for Ireland as he looks to build on Autumn series
That leaves former England captain Steve Borthwick and New Zealander Scott Robertson as frontrunners, with Warren Gatland a possible short-term fix if England can get in ahead of Wales.
As Ugo Monye (below)pointed out on Tuesday, Gatland “knows how to get a team gelled and co-ordinated in no time because he’s done it for the last three Lions’ series”.
Leicester have contingency plans in place in the event that RFU boss Bill Sweeney comes calling for Borthwick. Sweeney has given himself a fortnight to come to a decision on Jones and in the meantime views of his players are being canvassed.
A function Jones was down to attend on Monday has been cancelled.
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