Jones looking to Northern Hemisphere

Former Wallaby coach Eddie Jones, who “quit” as Reds coach on Monday, is looking to the Northern Hemisphere for his next full-time appointment.

A report on the RugbyHeaven website said Jones has now set his sights on taking up a full-time position with an English club next year.

After finishing with the Reds, his immediate priority will be to honour consultancy roles with English premiership side Saracens and Suntory in Japan.

Jones said he would not take on World Cup coaching duties, despite confirming he had been approached by Samoa, Fiji and Tonga.

“I won’t be accepting them. I want to just focus on finishing here [Queensland] and then pushing ahead with my future coaching career in England,” Jones told RugbyHeaven, adding he had also rejected an offer to coach a Six Nations side after the World Cup.

Meanwhile, amid speculation that Wallaby forwards coach Michael Foley is favoured to replace Jones at the Reds, a rapidly firming contender is former Wallaby and Brumbies back Pat Howard, who has recently returned to Australia after a successful coaching stint with English club Leicester.

According to the website other strong contenders for the position include Auckland Blues coach David Nucifora, who is now off-contract, and Australia under-19s mentor Phil Mooney.