Australian Eddie Jones is set to become England's new coach, according to British media reports.
The 55-year-old will be in place when England kick off their Six Nations campaign next February after the Rugby Football Union (RFU) agreed to a £100,000 compensation payout with his current team, the Stormers in South Africa, according to the Daily Express and Daily Telegraph.
Stuart Lancaster left the post last week following England's disastrous World Cup campaign on home soil.
Jones, who would become England's first overseas coach, said on Tuesday that whoever succeeds Lancaster must have greater control over the country's Test players.
"How can you manage your players when they are controlled by other organisations?" Jones said in an interview with the website ESPN Scrum.
"That is the single greatest task ahead of whoever is going to be appointed as the next England coach."
Jones was Australia's coach when they lost the 2003 World Cup final to England and four years later was a member of South Africa's back-room staff when they became world champions.
This year saw Jones oversee Japan's impressive performance at the World Cup, which included a shock defeat of South Africa - the biggest upset in the tournament's history.
He only recently took up a post as coach of Super Rugby side Stormers.
Australia coach Michael Cheika joined a growing list of high-profile figures who said they did not want the England job on Monday.
Wallabies skipper Stephen Moore has backed the credentials of a man whose extensive CV also includes spells at the Brumbies and Reds in Super Rugby.
"Eddie is very thorough and always brings a lot of attention to detail," said Moore, speaking ahead of Saturday's clash between the Barbarians and Argentina at Twickenham.
"He looks at different sports and different teams to see what they do well, making sure that whatever team he's in charge of is at the forefront of the way things are done in sport."
AFP
