Eddie Jones is yet to reach an agreement with the Rugby Football Union over continuing as the England coach until 2023 despite a series of meetings with the chief executive, Bill Sweeney. The situation raises doubts over whether Jones, whose contract runs until August 2021, will be in charge at the next World Cup.

The day after England’s World Cup final defeat by South Africa in Yokohama last month, Sweeney pledged to hold urgent talks with Jones, saying “it makes sense” for the 59-year-old Australian to stay on until the World Cup in France. He went on to add: “It’s nice to have that unbroken stretch.”

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Sweeney has since taken part in a review of the campaign in Japan, chaired by the former sports minister Hugh Robertson, with a former England coach – believed to be Brian Ashton – also on the panel. Twenty-seven of the 32 World Cup players also gave their feedback anonymously and while Sweeney insisted the results were “overwhelmingly positive”, he has cooled his position on tying Jones down for an extra two years, stating there is no rush.

“He’s contracted through to August 2021,” Sweeney said. “There is no deadline or cut-off period to that. He’s stated very clearly he’s committed to seeing that out, so there’s no looming deadline where we need to make a pressing decision. He’s done a great job, a really good job. From December 2015, if you look at where we were when he came in he’s done an outstanding job. But we’ll look at all the various pros and cons and make a decision on what is in the best interests of England rugby.

“We are talking, we’re continuing to talk. We had the review first, we’ve had a number of meetings on it. It needs to work for both sides for it to be absolutely right. If it’s the right thing for him to stay, if he wants to stay and we want him to stay then it’ll go that way. The review was very supportive. He and I sat down and talked on a number of occasions. At the moment he’s contracted through and fully committed to seeing out the contract until 2021 and we’ll take it from there.”

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This month Jones revealed he had been contacted by Rugby Australia with a view to replacing Michael Cheika as the Wallabies coach but said: “I’m committed to a two-year contract to England so it would have been difficult to get out of that.”

Shortly before Jones agreed a contract extension with England in January 2018 he was linked with a move to France’s Top 14 but rather than fear his coach taking another job two years before the World Cup, Sweeney suggested a fresh face could even be a good thing.

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“New Zealand have just appointed [Ian] Foster on a two-year contract,” Sweeney said. “[South Africa’s World Cup winning coach Rassie] Erasmus came in 18 months before the World Cup. Is it better to have someone in there for the four-year period leading up to it? It may well be, more stability, but I wouldn’t say there is a date in the diary when we have to make a decision otherwise we’re not going to be ready for France [2023].”

In the short term, Jones, who is back in Japan, must finalise his coaching staff for the Six Nations with Neal Hatley and Scott Wisemantel having left after the World Cup and with Steve Borthwick expected to join Leicester Tigers at some stage this season. Matt Proudfoot, who masterminded the Springboks’ demolition of England’s scrum, and the England sevens coach, Simon Amor, are both being lined up with announcements expected in January.

While it is believed Proudfoot is under consideration as the forwards coach in the long term, Sweeney said he expects Borthwick, who currently holds that role, to continue with England during the Six Nations. “I can only say what he’s said,” Sweeney added. “He’s said he’s with us through to the Six Nations and that’s our assumption.”