Eddie Jones says the relentless expectation to win makes the job as England's head coach "uniquely difficult".

The Australian held the post between 2015 and 2022, guiding the Red Rose to the Rugby World Cup final in 2019.

Jones also led England to three Six Nations championships, including the Grand Slam in 2016, but was sacked after winning just five of 12 Tests.

The 65-year-old highlighted the need to "keep your head above water" when in charge of England.

"In English rugby, you can never talk about rebuilding because the expectation is you win all the time," he told BBC Sport. "It is [uniquely difficult], but that's the deal.

"You know when you get the job, you're accepting into that, so you can't complain about that. You've just got to get on with it.

"You've just got to make sure you keep your head above water."

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Now in charge of Japan, Jones believes his departure from England almost three years ago came at a point when the team had reached "no-man's land".

"The team I inherited from the 2015 World Cup, we basically took the same team to the 2019 World Cup," he added.

"By the time you get to 2023, some of those players are starting to drop off. They're still good players, but they're not quite there.

"Then, you've got that no-man's land where you've got younger players who aren't quite good enough. They're good, but they're not quite good enough to be Test match winners."

Jones was replaced by Steve Borthwick, who he believes is managing a similar transition well, having guided England to the World Cup semi-finals two years ago, and overseen a run of seven straight Test wins.

"Steve inherited that [situation] and did a great job at the 2023 World Cup," Jones said. "He coached very efficiently and got the most out of that squad. Now, he's creating a different squad.

"He's starting to build a really effective style. They played some really good rugby against Argentina – pragmatic, very efficient, tough, keep-at-it, all the attributes that Steve had as a player."