England defensive coach John Mitchell eyes Eddie Jones’ job after the World Cup

Defence guru John Mitchell has opened the possibility of extending his contract with England beyond the World Cup.

The Kiwi was heralded as the brains behind England’s defensive dominance in Saturday’s 32-20 win in Dublin. 

The RFU are drawing up a shortlist of candidates to succeed Eddie Jones and Mitchell, 54, previously sent in his c.v. for the head coach role in 2015.

Defence guru John Mitchell was heralded as the brains behind England’s 32-20 win in Ireland

Asked if he would like to stay on at Twickenham, the former All Blacks coach said: ‘What you are saying is a nice thing to think about and clearly I have to think about my family. 

‘At this moment in time I am just really enjoying playing a part and making sure that I am doing my job. That is my most critical focus.

‘There is an ultimate goal at the end of the year. I am sure that if I do my job all those other things will take care of themselves.’

Spirits are high in the Mitchell family. Four days on from England’s famous victory in Dublin, Mitchell’s son, Daryl, made yesterday his debut for New Zealand’s cricket team in their victory over India.

‘It has been seven years of work for the young fella,’ said a teary-eyed Mitchell.

RFU are drawing up a shortlist of candidates to succeed England head coach Eddie Jones

‘My son still thinks I’m a bit of a coach when I talk to him. I think it’s the back-lawn cricket that he probably he still remembers when I changed the rules all the time. Just seeing the helmet on his head with the fern. I think that was the signal that he has finally got the opportunity of playing international cricket. It’s pretty good.’

Mitchell’s focus has now turned to Sunday’s Test against France at Twickenham, where England will aim to build on their defensive display.

The secret behind the defensive cohesion, Mitchell claimed, stems from a concerted effort to build relationships between the players.

‘It makes you more accountable because you won’t want to let your mates down,’ he said. ‘It’s physical. It suits us as English and can be infectious when you get it right. We like to be physical and enjoy being physical. That’s the benchmark and the standard.. The camp in Portugal is a place that creates patience and resilience because it’s not five-star. It is a good environment for connection.’

The squad spent eight days in Vilamoura before the start of the Six Nations – and also enjoyed a team social at the ‘Flightclub’ darts bar in London before their flight.

‘We’ve had ‘We’ve had a real emphasis on being together on and off the field, getting together in little groups off the field and having a good time,’ said centre Henry Slade. ‘We didn’t tend to do that as much before.

‘We had a room, played some darts, a couple of drinks and had a real good time. I checked out with three doubles – I shocked myself! You feel closer to the bloke next to you because you’ve shared experiences off the field. It’s not purely business and work; you’re playing with your mates. It feels like your back at school playing with your mates, who you genuinely want to do well for.’

No 8 Nathan Hughes revealed that 6ft7in Courtney Lawes was the star performer in the darts tournament, saying: ‘He has that long reach… just places the dart on the board!’