Eddie Jones 'disagreed' with Steve Borthwick selection during Six Nations

“The selection of Marcus — to me that’s always the political selection,” said Jones on his podcast EDDIE.

"A player has been out of form, hasn’t quite done well at Test level and then he plays one or two club games and he’s a hero. The media starts banging on the door — you’ve got to pick him, you’ve got to pick him — and then the board reacts to that, and ask, ‘Why aren’t you picking him?’

“When you’re a young coach at the start of your career you can get influenced by that. I really felt for Marcus in that game. The thing you’ve got in England is the intenseness [sic] of the media, which then affects the board, and they start to step in, and that’s when you get problems. Allow the coach to coach.

“The board have a strategic role, but because they feel the pressure they try to get involved in the operational side, and that’s when things get worse. Unless you have strong people around the team that can be a difficulty.”

An RFU spokesperson responded to Jones rant with the following statement: “Team selection is entirely Steve’s decision as England Head Coach.”

A troubling run of form leading up to the World Cup could spell the end if the them en in white don't come up with the goods at the tournament proper.

RUCK takes you through three coaches who could be sought out if Borthwick is given his marching orders after leading the nation to France...

Rob Baxter, who guided the Devon-based club from the Championship to European champions in 10 years has done this largely with a core of players that have come through the academy at Exeter.

With this season's club performance not at the level of previous years, it may be time for him to move on and into the Test game in the near futuree.

Although Baxter joined the England coaching team for the summer tour to Argentina and Uruguay in March 2013, he has no experience outside of Exeter. "I would be happy to have a chat about what the role is, how they see it working and what their plans and ambitions are," Baxter said of the England job back in December.

"Unless you know what it is, it's hard to say yes or no to anything. At the same time, I'm not looking for another job! I'm very happy here," he added.

Despite having signed a contract extension until 2025, Andy Farrell would likely be at the top of the list for the RFU if they were to make another coaching change, regardless of how well Ireland performs during the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

Currently, one of the coaches England would be most interested in having is Farrell, who is achieving impressive results and playing styles across the Irish Sea.

However, whether or not Farrell would want to return to the RFU, where he was previously the defence coach between 2011 and 2015 under Stuart Lancaster - who is currently working in Ireland with Leinster - and left under a cloud after England's disappointing 2015 home World Cup, is another matter altogether.

The La Rochelle coach was seen as one of the front-runners to replace Eddie Jones when he was sacked in December.

O’Gara has previously said he would be interested in the job because of the calibre of players available, but when linked to the job he admitted it would be a 'big leap'.

"There’s a lot to that, being the head man it’s very much your vision. Even two people who are very aligned sometimes don’t have the same vision.

“Then again, titles don’t really interest me too much and it’s just what role Scott would like to do, I would like to do and how you share responsibility.

“Even before that, it’s a big mental leap for me to decide upon.

“I wouldn’t have given that the time required, at the minute all I’ve said is that I wouldn’t rule it out, but if you were to commit to something like that I’d have to sit down with my family and work it out."