ENGLAND are in World Cup turmoil after Paul Gustard told them he was quitting to become Harlequins boss.
After agreeing terms with the London club Gustard will be named as their new boss on Monday.
And it leaves Eddie Jones without a defence coach OR attack coach with just 15 months until Japan 2019.
Gustard’s decision to pack it in with England is a huge blow for Jones.
He is expected to tour South Africa with the Test side next month before starting work in the Premiership just days after they get back at the end of June.
Not only does it reflect badly on Red Rose coach Jones, but also the RFU whose sole aim of the game is to promote and nurture homegrown talent.
Quins players within the England camp have welcomed Gustard’s appointment at The Stoop after another nightmare season.
John Kingston was sacked after they finished 10th and only an awful London Irish outfit saved them from being dragged into a serious relegation battle.
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Former Saracens, Leicester Tigers and London Irish forward Gustard was contracted at England until 2019 and was a huge hit when working at Sarries before becoming an international coach.
Aussie boss Jones naively said last week that he had no contingency plans in place if Gustard were to walk away.
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He said: “I don’t deal in rumours. If I dealt in rumours I would be a nut case and I’m close enough to that as it is, so I don’t want to get any closer. If I dealt in rumours I’d see shadows
in the corner of every room.
“I don’t have a contingency plan for staff, I don’t have one for every staff member. If a situation arises then I’ll deal with it. I don’t have any plan.
“Everyone is different. Some people want to be a head coach, some people want to be an assistant coach their whole life. I’m not a career development coach.
“I don’t develop careers for coaches. My job is to win at international level. I appoint the best coaches I can find and then they work with me and we try to win games of rugby.”
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