Stormers want another 'big fish'
Jones' stay in Cape Town lasted around two weeks before the RFU swooped in and offered him a four-year contract to take England to the next World Cup along with an astronomical salary, which the Australian simply could not refuse.
Although they have the consolation of a hefty transfer fee, the Stormers are back where they started when Allister Coetzee departed and Western Province Rugby Union President Thelo Wakefield is confident that director of rugby Gert Smal will be able to lure another 'big fish' to Newlands.
"The Eddie Jones era lasted 14 days and it is over, so we need to concentrate on a recovery strategy.
"I have full faith in Gert that he will come up with the right person, he has done a marvellous job to land Eddie for 14 days at Newlands and I do believe that Gert will land another big fish," he said.
Smal confirmed that they will be targeting another experienced coach to replace Jones, and expressed interest in getting a 'fresh' perspective from a foreigner.
"He must have at least six or seven years of Super Rugby experience, and preferably international experience as well.
"I am going to look at all options and make a decision from there, but with foreigners coming in it does give nice stimulation to coaches and to players.
"I think it stimulates the system [to have a foreign coach], but you have to see what is available and what is best for the Stormers," he said.
Smal himself has taken charge of the pre-season, with Rob Fleck stepping up when he is not available to take charge of preparations for Super Rugby next year.
"At the moment I am just going to step in and take charge of the off-season, but what I am going to do as well is Fleckie has been appointed as coaching co-ordinator.
"I am glad I gave him the opportunity to coach at Under-21 level, he was fantastic there, he is most probably the most experienced coach in South Africa in Super Rugby at the moment.
"The buck will stop with me when I am there and the buck will stop with him when I am busy in meetings and stuff," he said.
Jones will visit for a brief period in December to help plan for the 2016 season while Smal does his best to fill the position as soon as possible.
"Eddie will come in early December and we will sit down and do the pre-season phase and the planning with him up until we play the Bulls in our first game.
"We don't pay him anything, it was purely from his side, he feels bad and he really wants to see that we go ahead.
"A lot of the stuff is already in place, we are not going to change our approach. We want to play a Stormers style and we are not going to change from that approach.
"The way we want to go is in line with a lot of the approaches that you see in world rugby, and if a new coach comes in he will be able to adapt," he said.
Smal added that he has already been approached by a number of coaches who are interested in the position.
"We have had at least four approaches, if not six, so there is a lot of interest, but I have to make the right decisions to bring in the right person who understands our culture, the way we want to play and understands South Africa," he said.
Although disappointed at losing a coach of Jones' calibre, Smal said that he understood the decision which gives Jones a chance to win the World Cup in 2019.
"It was mixed feelings because I have got a good relationship with him and I have been a coach myself as well.
"It is obviously a bit disappointing, Eddie is a very special man and one thing that I can say is that England is going to be a power team come 2019.
"It is an opportunity for him to get a four year contract and also have a chance to see if he can win the World Cup, and I think those are the things that drove him," he said.
By Michael de Vries
