Scott Robertson as the next England coach?

Scott Robertson. Photo: Getty Images
Scott Robertson. Photo: Getty Images
England's fifth-placed finish in the Six Nations has fuelled fresh speculation that Eddie Jones' tenure may soon be over - and Scott Robertson is being touted as his possible replacement.

Charles Richardson from the Daily Telegraph UK today listed Robertson as one of several replacement options for Jones.

"Robertson is the dark horse. His Crusaders have been regarded by many as the sport's most accomplished club side for the past few years - particularly in attack - after they won three back-to-back Super Rugby titles, and last year added a fourth triumph in four years as they won the newly established Aotearoa competition," Richardson wrote.

"Considering his domestic achievements, the decision to promote Ian Foster to the All Blacks role and ignore Robertson attracted criticism in New Zealand. The 46-year-old is seen as someone who has all the qualities for Test rugby. There is no question, either, that England would attack with venom under Roberston's stewardship."

Former England coach Clive Woodward told Reuters Jones must be held accountable for their disastrous Six Nations campaign, but the priority should now be to address pressing issues within the team.

Saturday's 32-18 defeat by Ireland was defending champions England's third in the tournament and they are set to finish fifth, their joint-worst position since Italy joined the Six Nations in 2000.

It is the first time since 1976 that they have achieved a reverse triple crown of losing to Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

"It's time for Eddie Jones to look in the mirror, not the window," Woodward, who guided England to victory in the 2003 World Cup, wrote in his column for the Daily Mail.

"Somebody at the Rugby Football Union needs to ask some sharp questions of him. There is no respected rugby 'brain' asking the difficult questions.

"What's going on? Why have England produced only one decent performance? Why is the England team not reflective of the fantastic talent we see in the Premiership?"

"There is so much England need to address and they need to start right now."

England were poised to kick on after reaching the 2019 World Cup final, which they lost to South Africa, but now find themselves back to square one. Woodward said England had paid the price for complacency.

"Somebody at the RFU needed to badly investigate what went wrong in the World Cup final instead of automatically handing Jones another contract," he wrote.

"An inquest was needed. It was all too congratulatory when England returned from Japan and English rugby has paid a heavy price."

-Additional reporting by Arvind Sriram