England Rugby officials have played down the prospect of Kiwi Warren Gatland taking over from incumbent coach Eddie Jones when the Australian leaves his current role.
After a successful 12 year period, Gatland will walk away from his post as Wales coach after this year's World Cup in Japan, with the Kiwi's services in hot demand, reportedly interesting the likes of France as well as England.
However, speaking to Sky Sports UK, England RFU Chairman Nigel Melville appeared to play down the chances of Gatland taking over from Jones, with the high profile job likely to turn any coach's head.
"Everyone talks about Warren Gatland. There are a lot more coaches out there than just Warren," Melville said.
"Warren is mentioned in every breath when everyone talks about international coaches at the moment. He's a fantastic coach, he's done a fantastic job with Wales, no doubt."
With Jones' current deal running until 2021, England are in no rush to appoint a successor, with Melville saying the organisation are solely concentrating on the World Cup beginning in September.
"We don't want to be talking about succession and everything else - who it should be and who it isn't - before a World Cup.
"We want Eddie to focus on the World Cup, that's why we've contracted him beyond the World Cup, so we've got some time to put the right person in place and structure in place, post-World Cup."
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