Felix Jones free to talk to suits as English RFU release coach from his contract

Felix Jones: has officially stepped down from his role as England's defence coach.

Felix Jones has officially stepped down from his role as England's defence coach, the Rugby Football Union confirmed on Friday.

Jones had handed in his resignation during August, but his contract stipulated he serve out a 12-month notice period.

Jones is in the frame to be the next Munster head coach and is regarded by many as the primary rival to current attack coach Mike Prendergast for the position. Munster have said they are in no immediate rush replace Graham Rowntree with Prendergast stepping up in the interim, but if province chiefs have their eye on Jones, they may now be forced to move quicker than expected.

After Jones signalled his intention to leave, Joe El-Abd had taken charge of England's defence with the aggressive blitz system introduced by the Munster man which had rattled the All Blacks in July, now very much under the microscope.

England scored five tries in the 42-37 defeat by Australia last month, but also leaked five as well as their second highest number of points ever conceded at Twickenham, in the process missing a staggering 36 tackles.

After also losing 29-20 to South Africa, England ended their autumn with a 59-14 victory over Japan at Allianz Stadium on November 24 which halted a five-Test losing run, leaving Steve Borthwick's men seventh in the global rankings.

A short statement from the governing body issued on Friday read: "The RFU can confirm that England Rugby men's assistant coach Felix Jones will step down from his role today."