Jones Lined Up for Saracens Amid Talks Over £8m Injection

Eddie Jones, the former Australia coach who was part of South Africa's World Cup-winning management team last autumn, will succeed his compatriot Alan Gaffney as Saracens' director of rugby next season. Gaffney will take on a part-time role.

Jones is currently working as a consultant for Saracens having acted as the club's temporary head coach two seasons ago. Sarries were then struggling, but under Gaffney they made the play-offs last season and are on course to do so again.

Saracens are set to receive an £8m investment from the South African businessman Johann Rupert which, says the club's chairman Nigel Wray, would not involve a change of ownership. "We are in discussion with a South African-based company and it is an exciting opportunity for us," said Wray. "Any potential deal will not affect the ownership or control of Saracens and the directors are all committed to taking the club forward."

Leicester's pursuit of the Argentina outside-half Juan Martín Hernández received a boost yesterday when the player fell out with his club Stade Français after going home to rest a knee injury only to be photographed playing football. He has been ordered back to Paris to explain himself by the Stade president Max Guazzini. "Any punishment is a matter for the president but it will not be easy for Hernández to recover from this," said the assistant coach Fabrice Landreau.

The top two in the Premiership, Gloucester and Bath, meet at the Recreation Ground tonight. The Cherry and Whites have the England center Mike Tindall in their line-up after he recovered from a calf strain but Iain Balshaw and Gareth Delve are both injured.

Bath are at full strength with Butch James, Michael Claassens, Lee Mears, Matt Stevens, Andy Beattie and Michael Lipman returning after being rested last weekend. "We have had a great start in the league and Europe but we have to consolidate on that over the next seven matches," said the Gloucester director of rugby Dean Ryan.

The Welsh Rugby Union has named an Englishman, Graeme Maw, as its elite performance director. The 43-year-old filled a similar role in British triathlon and at the Queensland Academy of Sport. Nigel Davies, a member of Wales' World Cup management team, will be the head of rugby development. "In elite sport you have to be at the forefront of all that high-performance management can provide to achieve success," said Maw. "I know I can put in place systems and a culture which will improve our best players."