Eddie Jones says he wants to continue coaching at international level and has not ruled out the possibility of taking the Australia job.

“I wouldn’t do anything differently,” he added.

Jones has been linked with a return to Australia as a replacement for under-pressure Wallabies boss Dave Rennie.

Jones coached Australia between 2001 and 2005, leading them to the 2003 Rugby World Cup final on home soil where they lost in extra time to England. After his sacking by his home nation in 2005, an emotional Jones vowed to return, saying the job was the “greatest honour and privilege you can have.”

Australia are a potential quarter-final opponent for England at next year’s Rugby World Cup in France, but Jones denied that a desire to prove his previous employers wrong would motivate any return to Test rugby.

“It’s not about coaching England’s rivals, it’s about adding to the game. I love the game and I love coaching,” he added.

“I want to continue coaching.”

Jones was sacked by England after a disappointing Six Nations, featuring defeats by France, Ireland and Scotland, and an autumn in which his team won only one of four Tests.

However, his side did beat Australia 2-1 in a summer series between those two campaigns. After England’s win in the decisive Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Jones angrily confronted a heckling home fan who called him “a traitor”.

Asked if he had spoken to Rugby Australia about a return, Jones laughed and said: “Be a discerning reader, never believe what you read in the papers.”

The 62-year-old added: “As you get a bit older, as I am, you just want to leave things in a better place. I just want to share the great experience I have had, particularly with coaching players and teams.

“What we want to see is great games of rugby and if you have the opportunity to be part of that you are extremely lucky.”

Jones won 73% of his games in charge of England, claiming three Six Nations titles in his seven years in charge. He also led the team to the 2019 World Cup final, which they lost to South Africa, but was sacked earlier this month after only five wins from 12 Tests in 2022.

Jones added: “When you have been coaching for a while you feel when your support is starting to wane and I knew we had to have good results in the autumn.

“I continued on coaching as well as I could and we had a plan to peak at the 2023 World Cup, but unfortunately we didn’t get the opportunity to finish that.

“There was a discussion but when boards make that decision, they already have it firmly in their mind.

“They made a decision that they didn’t think I can do the job to the level they want and I’m in no position to argue with it. I will move into what I’m going to do next and I wish England rugby all the best.”

Some of Jones’ former players have since come out in support of his coaching methods, including England captain Owen Farrell, who said Jones’ sacking was “unbelievably disappointing”.

The Rugby Football Union have appointed Steve Borthwick as Jones’ successor, and the Australian coach says he has “great memories” of leading England.

“I didn’t think I was coaching poorly and that is all I could control,” he said.

“The thing that is pleasing is the number of players who have come out and endorsed that, particularly when they cannot gain anything from that. But sometimes the results don’t go your way and you pay for it and I know that as well as anyone.

“I received 40 odd texts from players in some way thanking me or sending their best wishes, which they don’t need to do.

“I’ve got some great memories of the English players, they are a great bunch. They play hard and they train hard and they have a lot of pride in playing for England and I’m sure they will do well playing under Steve.”

Analysis

Chris Jones, BBC rugby correspondent

Jones is philosophical about his dismissal, saying he felt the mood at Twickenham turn during the autumn series, and believes the call was made to sack him even before he presented his review of the campaign.

However he says he has no regrets about any decisions he made towards the end of his tenure. He feels he was coaching as well as ever and has defended his strategy of prioritising the Rugby World Cup at all costs, a policy that has since been reversed by new coach Borthwick and the RFU.

Jones adds that he is sad he wasn’t able to see his England project through to completion but tellingly, at the age of 62, he believes he has one more big international head coach job left in him.

It’s likely Jones will continue to be a major player in world rugby for a few years yet.