Mitchell and Jones committed to England until 2021

England defence coach John Mitchell has extended his contract until 2021 and Eddie Jones intends to stay on as head coach for another two years.

Mitchell was appointed by Jones last September after the Rugby Football Union (RFU) agreed a compensation package with Super Rugby franchise the Bulls.

The New Zealander is reportedly a contender to replace Jones, whose future has been the subject of speculation.

RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney on Thursday revealed that Australian Jones plans to see out his contract.

Mitchell’s contract extended to 2021

Jones committed to see out contract

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— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) June 13, 2019

“We have extended John’s contract consistent with Eddie’s, so it goes through to June 2021,” said Sweeney. “Eddie has reconfirmed his commitment to stay through to 2021.

“The focus is on the World Cup and then making sure we get our plans in place post-World Cup.

“We’ve already started conversations of what the coaching structure will look like coming back from Japan, and Eddie has a number of names in the frame.

“We haven’t approached them yet, and we wouldn’t contract anyone pre-World Cup, but he has in mind how he would like to structure that when back from Japan.”

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