Eddie Jones has long-term vision but fans want Six Nations success now

We will probably have to wait until he has left the job to hear exactly what Eddie Jones thinks about how club and country co-exist in England but he gave a clue shortly before he was appointed. “How can you manage your players when they are controlled by other organisations?” the Australian asked in late 2015. “In my opinion, that’s the single greatest task ahead of whoever is going to be appointed as the next England coach.”

It is a task Jones initially met with belligerence – as demonstrated with his “Donald Trump of rugby” jibe at the Bath owner Bruce Craig – but one that he has learned to grin and bear, and while the Rugby Football Union rarely behaves like Jones is kept on any sort of leash, it seems obvious he is now under strict instruction when it comes to criticising that particular arrangement. It is up for renewal soon enough, after all.

Having said that, the subtext this week of Jones declaring Ireland, where the union enjoys far more autonomy over its players, the most cohesive side in the world was clear. But perhaps his comment that the playing field is levelled at the World Cup is more instructive. Because, at times, Jones gives the impression of someone impatiently counting the days until early next summer and the first day of the 2023 World Cup campaign.

There was a telling line, buried deep within an RFU announcement last year that the Premiership would be allowed to halt relegation, which said that, in return, the union would have more preparation time in the build up to the World Cup. Indeed, it is understood the RFU has discussed urging the Premiership to host its 2022-23 final as early as mid-May, and if Jones was not leading those negotiations then rest assured he will have approved.

The rub,