Why an Overseas Coach Is the Best Way Forward for England

The England rugby team is at a crossroads in its history, and the decision regarding whom is appointed to succeed Stuart Lancaster will dictate how the Red Rose bounces back from arguably its greatest-ever disappointment.

The 2015 Rugby World Cup, where England became the first host nation ever to fail to advance from their group, emphasised how far ahead of the pack southern hemisphere teams currently are—and the same can be said for the coaches.

BBC Sport reported early on Friday morning that former Japan coach Eddie Jones had finalised a deal to take over at the helm, having secured a release from his contract with Super Rugby's Stormers.

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In doing so, Jones hasbecome the first-ever foreign figure to lead England, but ex-Australia winger David Campese argued this would be a show of weakness from England in their time of crisis:

"Don't you want an Englishman to coach an English team and win the World Cup? It obviously shows that after the World Cup you guys are lost. You've got all the money in the world—and all the players—and you've still got no idea how to play the game."

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But to agree with Campese would be a matter of pride, something England don't boast much of at present. It's true that every World Cup-winning coach has originated from the nation they led to global triumph, including 2003 victor Clive Woodward, but patriotism simply isn't working to great effect.

Of course, at the end of the day, it's the players who go out to do the work, and the southern hemisphere boasts better players and more of them—that much is clear. The infrastructures in New Zealand, Australia and South Africa simply breed stronger teams, and by association, Argentina are catching up.

So, by that logic, southern-hemisphere coaches, whether they played at the professional level themselves or not, can also expect to benefit from a deeper understanding of what makes players and teams truly great.

Just about every other Six Nations side has cottoned on to the fact tacticians from within their own house perhaps don't have the necessary skills, and photographer Darren Heath previously urged England to follow suit:

Ireland have come on leaps and bounds under New Zealander Joe Schmidt, while his countrymen Warren Gatland and Vern Cotter are doing fine work at the helms of Wales and Scotland, respectively.

Sky Sports pundit Stuart Barnes agreed that no matter which way one looks at it, the northern hemisphere is way off the pace compared to those from south of the equator:

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The northern hemisphere is a long way behind the southern hemisphere. It normally is.

When the northern hemisphere had their one World Cup triumph under Clive Woodward, his recipe was to focus first and foremost on the autumn internationals against the big three of New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. We now have to include Argentina as well because of the development, they're making playing against the big three all the time.

In this hemisphere, we're obsessed with the little island mentality of the Six Nations, the rivalries between Wales and England. We've got to get over that. That is the second-tier tournament.

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The "little-island mentality" is an intriguing point. Britain—or more specifically England in this example—has always had a certain pride over The Empire, which ruled most of the world from the 1600s through to the 1800s; the world is a changed place, and their reach is nowhere near as vast or powerful.

Some players would appear to be on board with the idea of hiring a foreign coach, and Northampton Saints full-back Ben Foden has already got to work attempting to earn his place back in the squad:

That's not to say we should never see an Englishman at the helm again. If this unnamed figure has the credentials and is genuinely the right man for the job at that point, then by all means he should have his turn.

But that's not the case right now, and however hard England might try to unearth a native suitable for the position, it's a pursuit that won't produce the best results.

The Daily Mail's Will Kelleher recently discussed how Gatland, Wallabies coach Michael Cheika and ex-Springboks coach Jake White were all being examined as candidates, all of which are from the southern hemisphere.

It's a bitter pill to swallow, but the time has come for England to drop tradition—at least for the time being—and turn to a foreign coach.