The Rugby Football Union have officially confirmed that Friday will be Felix Jones’ last as part of the England set-up.

It comes less than a year after the Irishman joined Steve Borthwick’s backroom team having made the move from South Africa following the Rugby World Cup.

“The RFU can confirm that England Rugby men’s assistant coach Felix Jones will step down from his role on Friday 13 December,” the statement read.

Immediate impact in the Six Nations

Jones came in as defence coach and made an immediate impact, employing a Springboks-like blitz as the Red Rose showed signs of improvement in the Six Nations.

That promise continued on the tour to Japan and New Zealand as they narrowly succumbed twice to the All Blacks.

A month later, it was revealed that the 37-year-old had tendered his resignation, with it being reported that he was “unhappy with an unstable working environment.”

The RFU then activated a 12-month notice period and Borthwick told him to stay away from training for the Autumn Nations Series.

Joe El-Abd moved into the role of defence coach with Jones taking a backseat by working remotely at his home in Ireland as an analyst.

After now coming to an agreement with the RFU following the conclusion of the November campaign, he has officially ended his stint at England and can start searching for a new job.

However, Jones will not be able to work for a tier one side until after the 2025 Six Nations.

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Year-end issues

Without Jones at the helm – in training at least – England’s defence struggled under new coach El-Abd.

They decided against tapping into Jones’ knowledge during the Autumn Nations Series, which led to a bizarre situation ahead of the Springboks clash.

Despite his intimate knowledge of the Boks, neither the players nor coaches stated that they were in contact with the Irishman, hinting at a breakdown in relationship between the respective parties in the England set-up.

“I’ve not spoken to him,” coach Richard Wigglesworth said. “I don’t know [if he has been delivering analysis]. He’s behind the scenes, it’s not for me [to say]. For the analysis guys and other people…he was obviously defence and that side of it, so…”

Centre Henry Slade added: “We don’t have any contact with Felix. I’m not sure if the coaches do or not. We’ve been working with Joe and our defensive leaders, trying to set the defence and the team up to defend as well as possible.

“Obviously things have not quite gone as well and when not everyone is on the same page – some people flying, some people not – it looks a bit ragged.

“The thing with the blitz is you have to fully commit, go all in, and be together. Then it becomes strong.”

READ MORE: England stars ‘shocked’ by coaching duo’s exits as they are left puzzled by ‘odd timing’

Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/rfu-release-terse-statement-confirming-felix-jones-exit-as-terms-of-his-departure-revealed