England has sacked head coach Eddie Jones after a review of recent performances, the Rugby Football Union (RFU) announced.

Jones had been in charge since becoming England's first foreign coach in November 2015 and was due to end his reign after the Rugby World Cup next year.

However, on the back of a disappointing Autumn Nations Series, RFU opted to make a change just nine months before the tournament gets under way in France.

"I am pleased with much that we have achieved as an England team and I look forward to watching the team's performance in the future," Jones said. "Many of the players and I will no doubt keep in touch and I wish them all well in their future careers."

RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney said after last month's 27-13 loss to South Africa at Twickenham that results "are not where we expect them to be".

England has endured its worst calendar year since 2008, having won just five of its 12 Tests.

The Red Rose was booed off the field after losing to the Springboks at Twickenham, but Australian Jones remained bullish at the time and said he "does not care what other people think".

Despite a 2022 to forget, Jones bows out with a record of 59 wins from his 81 Tests at the helm, with a win rate of 73 per cent – the best of any coach in England's history.

Next on that list is Jack Rowell (72 per cent), followed by Geoff Cooke and Clive Woodward (both 71 per cent), the latter having regularly called for Jones to be dismissed.

Jones led England to its first Grand Slam in 13 years in 2016, then won the tournament again in 2017 and 2020, while also reaching the 2019 Rugby World Cup final - won by South Africa.

He won his first 17 games with England, which was part of an 18-game win streak overall, the joint longest of any Tier 1 nation.

Leicester Tigers coach Steve Borthwick, one of Jones's former assistants, is considered the favourite to land the job, while Richard Cockerill will run the men's performance team on an interim basis.