Australia set to target Eddie Jones for role at 2027 home World Cup

Australia are expected to be confirmed as the host nation of the 2027 Rugby World Cup on Thursday and could target Eddie Jones to help their bid for success on home soil.

World Rugby’s council will meet in Dublin to confirm the host nations of the 2027 and 2031 tournaments – the latter is set to break new ground in the US – as well as the next three women’s World Cup tournaments.

Australia has been identified as the preferred bidder for the 2027 men’s tournament and after the union secured the necessary financial backing from the federal government in March, it is little more than a formality that they will be confirmed on Thursday.

World Rugby overhauled its bidding process after the controversial decision to award France the 2023 tournament five year ago, after South Africa had been recommended in an independent evaluation, and another late u-turn is inconceivable.

Australia last hosted the World Cup in 2003, when England were crowned champions following Jonny Wilkinson’s famous drop-goal against Jones’s Wallabies in the final. Jones’s contract with England ends after the 2023 tournament and, though he has recently been linked with a move to Racing 92, his future after ending ties with the Rugby Football Union is unclear.

Dave Rennie is the incumbent Wallabies head coach and it is thought that could be extended until the British & Irish Lions tour of Australia in 2025, depending on how his side fare at France 2023. The Brumbies head coach, Dan McKellar, is being lined up as his potential successor – though flopping in France would no doubt lead to a rethink – and Jones’s experience and track record at World Cups is not lost on Rugby Australia. Indeed, the governing body could seek Jones’s assistance in a broader