England national rugby team head coach EDDIE JONES retains the backing of the Rugby Football Union "despite England's dismal fifth-place finish" at the Six Nations tournament. The review into a "series of results that have plunged England into crisis" began on Wednesday with RFU CEO STEVE BROWN attending the initial meeting between Jones and his coaching staff (London TELEGRAPH, 3/21). ... A betting company was "forced" to postpone its U.K. launch following concerns about the involvement of ManU striker ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC, who was expected to help unveil "BetHard" at an event in Manchester next Monday. However, it emerged on Tuesday that Ibrahimovic’s involvement may violate "strict" FA rules regarding gambling (London INDEPENDENT, 3/21). ... Few were sure what former Real Madrid player RAÚL was "going to do after hanging up his boots," but he has decided to "dedicate himself to coaching." He will earn his coaching badges in April at the next Spanish FA elite course. He will then takeover Real Madrid's Juvenil B youth team (MARCA, 3/21). ... Former Super League rugby side Salford Red Devils Chair MARWAN KOUKASH is reportedly "looking into the idea" of a new rugby league team in Cumbria, England. He said, "It's a region with more fans of rugby league than football. ... What i'm suggesting is we create a club there and call it Cumbrian Lakers or whatever" (RUNNING RUGBY, 3/19). ... Spain’s prosecutor said on Wednesday that it was seeking a five-year jail sentence and a fine of €4M ($4.9M) for former footballer XABI ALONSO over accusations of tax fraud. The prosecutor said in a statement that Alonso is accused of defrauding the Spanish state of approximately €2M between '10 and '12. The prosecutor called for the same sentence to be applied to Alonso’s financial adviser, IVAN ZALDUA AZCUENAGA, and IGNASI MAESTRE CASANOVA, the administrator of the "consultancy shell company" (REUTERS, 3/21).
