Montpellier’s South African coach Jake White on Thursday ruled himself out of the running for the England job.
Earlier on Thursday, British media reports claimed that Australian Eddie Jones will take over the post vacated by Stuart Lancaster last week following England’s miserable World Cup showing.
“I have a contract with Montpellier. I’m not going to change, I’m staying here,” said White in a press conference ahead of Friday’s European Challenge Cup clash with Italians Calvisano.
“It’s important for the club, for the players and for the atmosphere to remove the doubt,” added White, whose contract at the Top 14 outfit runs until June 2017.
White, 52, who guided his homeland to World Cup glory in 2007, had previously spoken of his interest in the England job but started to distance himself last week.
“Everyone in world rugby knows this is one of the prime jobs, in fact even in world sports,” he had said, while insisting he had not met with any English Rugby Union (RFU) representatives.
White had sparked rumours about his future last week when he stayed behind in England after his team’s Challenge Cup defeat at Harlequins.
But he explained that he hadn’t done so to speak to the RFU but rather to “meet certain players’ agents and representatives from Adidas”.
White had twice before been snubbed at the final hurdle by the RFU, when Martin Johnson took control in 2008 and when Lancaster was handed the reins in 2012.
And he said last week he wasn’t prepared to be pipped at the post again.
“If the RFU thinks I am the man for the job and there wasn’t going to be any rigmarole of going through the whole process which I have before then I would be a contender,” he said.
Jones, who coached the Australia team that lost to England in the 2003 World Cup final on home soil, was in charge of Japan at the latest tournament, which ended in October.
He had since joined Stormers in the Super Rugby competition but English bookmakers have already stopped taking bets on him becoming the new England boss.