Shock contender emerges to replace John Morris as coach of Cronulla

Former Wallabies coach Eddie Jones has reportedly emerged as a shock contender to replace John Morris as coach of Cronulla.

According to the Daily Telegraph, Jones has long harboured an ambition to coach in the NRL.

The 60-year-old is contracted to coach England's rugby side through until the 2023 World Cup. He took England to the final of the 2019 World Cup, and coached Australia to the final of the 2003 tournament.

It's reported Jones believes he would oversee the coaching structure at the club, with the more detailed and technical aspects of the game delegated to his assistant coaches.

The Independent reports that no approach has been made either directly to Jones, or to England's Rugby Football Union.

A former Wallabies coach switching to rugby league isn't unprecedented. In 1991 Alan Jones took over at Balmain, but had little success in his three seasons in charge.

Other names reportedly in the race to take over are Cowboys mentor Paul Green, and Warrington coach Steve Price.

The news is likely to come as a shock to current Cronulla coach John Morris, who is in his second year in the job, and contracted through until the end of 2021.

Morris took the club to the finals in his debut season in 2019, after being thrown into the job at the last minute when Shane Flanagan was de-registered.

However the Sharks have won just one of their four matches to date in 2020, downing North Queensland 26-16 last week.

They play arch-rivals St George Illawarra on Sunday evening.