Bill Sweeney convinced Eddie Jones best man to lead England into World Cup

Rugby Football Union chief executive Bill Sweeney denies Eddie Jones is immune from the sack but remains convinced he is still the best man to oversee England’s challenge for the World Cup next year.

Sweeney insists Jones is not “bullet-proof” despite emerging from another failed Six Nations campaign with the support of the RFU.

For a second consecutive year England lost three of their five matches, finishing 15 points adrift of winners France, and they engineered only three tries outside of their rout of Italy.

The RFU’s initial reaction was to state “we are encouraged by the solid progress the team has made”, provoking an outcry before Twickenham belatedly accepted on Thursday that the performance had fallen well below expectations.

Jones has urged supporters to keep believing in his ability to deliver at France 2023 and while he has the support of Sweeney, he has been told it is not without its limits.

“No-one is bullet-proof. No-one is indispensable. I’m not indispensable. Anyone can go at any particular time, but that happens when there’s a loss of confidence,” Sweeney said.

No-one is bullet-proof. No-one is indispensable- Bill Sweeney

“People stay in their role because there is a belief that you are still heading in the right direction, even when sometimes the results might not back that up.

“You make a call, you make a judgement – are we heading in the right direction? If we felt we weren’t heading in the right direction, then of course he’s not bullet-proof. He knows that himself.

“We review and evaluate things as we go along. It’s not a case of saying ‘let’s wait six months and then review it and see how we’re going’.

“We’ll continue to review all the way through, from before the summer tour to Australia and all