RFU back Eddie Jones despite England slipping to sixth in world

The Rugby Football Union has insisted it still has faith in Eddie Jones and has no plans to review his contract despite England’s sharp decline in recent months. South Africa’s series‑clinching win on Saturday was England’s fifth successive Test defeat and is set to push them down to No 6 in the World Rugby rankings this week.

Not since 2006 have England endured a worse losing sequence but an RFU spokeswoman said the union remains “supportive” of Jones and his coaching team in the wake of the team’s 23-12 defeat in Bloemfontein. Jones is understood to earn in the region of £750,000 per annum and extended his contract in January for a further two years until 2021.

Since then, however, England have trailed in fifth in the Six Nations Championship and lost consecutive Tests in South Africa, surrendering a healthy lead on each occasion. Even Jones’s patience is being tested, with the head coach comparing his team to an unreliable vehicle. “We’re a bit like an old car at the moment,” he said. “Fix one thing and something else breaks.”

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The squad are now facing fresh disruption ahead of the final Test on Saturday following confirmation that the No 8 Billy Vunipola has re-broken the arm which put him out for four months this year. With his brother Mako also returning home for the birth of his first child and another prop, Leicester’s Ellis Genge, missing the remainder of the tour with a knee injury, England will be forced to field a reshuffled pack in Cape Town.

With Ben Youngs also having to apologise for brusquely cutting short a post-match interview and Joe Marler exchanging forceful views with an irate English supporter as he walked down the tunnel, frustrations are clearly mounting Jones, though, insists his team are good enough to bounce back. “As England coach you are always under pressure, that is the reality,” he said. “In these sort of situations you get a lot of advice but we are only 2-3% away from turning this around.”

The RFU, meanwhile, has revealed Jones has sent a letter of apology to the Bath owner, Bruce Craig, for describing him as the “Donald Trump of rugby” last month. Jones had taken issue with Craig’s criticism of England’s training regime but an RFU spokeswoman said he had apologised to Craig “for the personal remarks”.