Revealed: McGeechan, Webb and De Glanville on Jones review panel

EDDIE JONES’S future in English rugby will be decided this week by a panel including Phil de Glanville, Jonathan Webb and Sir Ian McGeechan.

The identities of the review team have been shrouded in secrecy but The Mail on Sunday can reveal three figures who are helping decide the future of English rugby.

Jones will learn his fate later this week but the head coach is expecting to be sacked before Christmas after just five wins from 12 Tests in 2022.

With the mood in the RFU hierarchy shifting after a poor autumn campaign, Jones will attempt to save his job in the meeting tomorrow with RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney and members of the review panel. The panel has been in place since 2019, meeting during and after each tournament, but the RFU declined to comment on its make-up.

De Glanville, 54, is a former England captain and RFU council member who is a representative on the Professional Game Board.

Webb, 59, won 33 England caps and represents the RFU on the World Rugby Council whilst also working as a full-time orthopaedic specialist.

McGeechan, 76, played for and coached Scotland, as well as the British & Irish Lions, during a prestigious career.

One of Jones’s advisors, David Pembroke, increased tensions last week when he accused Sweeney of briefing against Jones. Pembroke called the CEO ‘Slippery Bill’ and subsequently apologised.

Jones spent last weekend in France on a World Cup recce, while it has been business as usual for his assistant coaches, who were on scouting missions at Premiership games yesterday.

However, their tenures could end abruptly this week if the RFU, who have cancelled tomorrow’s Christmas drinks, decide it is time for a change.

The RFU have already held talks with Steve Borthwick and Scott Robertson about taking over after the 2023 World Cup.

With the World Cup just nine months away, they will need to act fast and could sign up one of them immediately if Jones is sacked.

Three-time British & Irish Lions coach Warren Gatland has emerged as a short-term alternative, but Wales are also looking at the New Zealander as a potential replacement for Wayne Pivac.

Should the RFU look to promote from within, assistant coach Richard Cockerill could be an outside candidate for the role.