Stuart Lancaster favours English successor to Eddie Jones after World Cup

Former England head coach Stuart Lancaster approves of the Rugby Football Union’s strong preference to appoint an English successor to Eddie Jones because of the motivating power of nationality.

Twickenham has already begun the process of identifying Jones’ replacement having backed the Australian to lead the team into the 2023 World Cup, after which his eight-year reign will end.

The plan is for the appointment to be made next summer with a view to the chosen candidate shadowing Jones during the global showpiece in France.

Chief executive Bill Sweeney wants an Englishman for the role and Lancaster, who was in charge from 2011 to 2015, agrees with limiting the geographic scope of the search.

“Within the coaching team, ideally, I wouldn’t disagree that you’d want stability and ideally an English flavour,” Leinster senior coach Lancaster told BBC Radio 5 Live’s Rugby Union Weekly podcast.

“I don’t think they should all necessarily be English, but you should have an English flavour. And ideally, and I’m biased obviously, an English coach.

“I was proud, as we all were, to coach the national team and I felt a huge sense of responsibility to do right for the team, but also to do right for the country as well. I think you feel that deeply when it is your country. It is important.

“I don’t think the whole coaching team has to be all English, a little bit of diversity in there wouldn’t be a bad thing. But you definitely want an English feel to it and an English system.”

Lancaster left Twickenham after England failed to qualify for the knockout phase of the 2015 World Cup, but the 52-year-old has successfully rebuilt his career at Leinster since.

In a twist of fate, he has been joined in Ireland by his former assistants Andy