Jones' Newlands departure confirmed
The Western Province Rugby Football Union revealed that they had agreed terms with the Rugby Football Union – which will see Jones depart to take on the England job.
He was appointed, officially, on Friday on a four-year contract, starting in December.
Jones will take charge of England ahead of their opening Six Nations game against Scotland at Murrayfield on February 6.
While there was no immediate confirmation of the amount, reports on how much the RFU had to pay the Stormers for Jones' release vary from £350.000 (ZAR7.5-million) to £700.00 (ZAR15-milliuon).
There has been plenty of speculation about Jones's future ever since his arrival in Cape Town earlier this month and he officially received an offer on Wednesday of this week – which proved impossible to turn down.
"While this is very disappointing for us all at WP and the Stormers," WPRFU President Thelo Wakefield said.
"Eddie is quite clearly the most sought-after coach in the world and this is the biggest and most lucrative job in international rugby," Wakefield added.
"Despite all the speculation since the World Cup, and given what he achieved with Japan during the World Cup, Eddie came to us on Wednesday with an offer from the RFU, which was simply impossible for any coach to turn down.
"It's a big pity to lose Eddie before he has even had an opportunity to make his mark here but you cannot keep someone against his will, whilst also competing with the richest rugby union at the same time," said Wakefield.
Jones will assist Western Province Director of Rugby Gert Smal with on-field preparation and planning in December, with Smal now overseeing the team's off-season programme.
"Of course it is not ideal to lose your coach before you have even begun your pre-season campaign in earnest… we are well aware of that," said Wakefield.
Looking ahead, Director of Rugby, Smal, added: "For now, I will oversee the team's off-season preparations. The assistant coaches, management team and playing body remain unaffected and all planning is in place.
"Amazingly enough I have already had contact from some big-name coaches [this week] and I will, once again, look both internally and externally before continuing to plot the way ahead for WP Rugby and the Stormers."
Former All Black coach John Mitchell is now being listed as a possible replacement for the new England coach Jones.
Eddie Jones commented: "Firstly my thanks must go to Rob Wagner, as well as everyone at Western Province and the Stormers for understanding my decision and allowing me to return to the international stage so quickly.
"The opportunity to take the reins in possibly the world's most high-profile international rugby job doesn't come along every day, however, and I feel fortunate to be given the opportunity.
"When I was appointed at WP and the Stormers there was no vacancy within the RFU and I never envisaged this opportunity to come forward.
"So while I am excited about the opportunity to coach England – in arguably the biggest international coaching job in world rugby – I'm very disappointed to be leaving the Stormers.
"I remain very grateful to WP Rugby for this opportunity and I would sincerely like to apologise to anyone that might have been affected by my sudden decision to leave Cape Town – the WPRFU Executive Committee, the WP Rugby Board of Directors, my fellow coaches, the players, the union's stakeholders and the faithful, all of whom have treated me so well in my short stay.
"And while it might sound like lip-service to some I am absolutely convinced that the talent amongst the coaching and playing staff here will continue to see Western Province excel at all levels in the future."
"I'm now looking forward to working with the RFU and the players to move beyond the disappointment England suffered at the World Cup and hope to build a new team that will reflect the level of talent that exists within the English game. I believe the future is bright for England."
RFU Chief Executive Ian Ritchie said: "We promised to recruit a coach with proven international experience and we have done that.
"Eddie is a world-class coach, with extensive experience at the highest level with Australia, South Africa and Japan.
"We believe that the appointment, which was unanimously approved by the RFU Board, is the right one to bring England success in the short, medium and long term.
"We are confident Eddie can build on the strong foundations already laid, with this talented group of players largely remaining together through to the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan and beyond. We are grateful to the Stormers for their co-operation in releasing Eddie early from his contract."
The Stormers are currently in the conditioning phase of their off-season programme, with the players training until mid-December before taking a proper pre-season holiday.
The squad will reconvene for pre-season training in early January 2016, with the Stormers' 2016 Vodacom Super Rugby season getting underway against the Bulls on February 27.
Jones has had a long and successful coaching career, winning trophies both domestically and internationally, having also spent time coaching in England.
His first major piece of silverware came in 2001 after leading the Brumbies to their first Super 12 title and in doing so becoming the first side other than a New Zealand team to win the tournament.
He took charge of the Wallabies between 2001 and 2005 and delivered Tri-Nations and Bledisloe Cup success.
The national side reached the 2003 World Cup Final on home soil, losing narrowly to England.
After spells with the Reds and Saracens, the 55-year-old took up a technical advisor role with the Springboks in 2007 – helping the South Africans win their second World Cup, having beaten England twice, once in the pool stages and then again in the Final.
He later became Director of Rugby at Saracens until 2009 and then coached the Japanese club side Suntory Sungoliath.
Jones returned to the international arena in 2011 as coach for Japan, where his mother was born.
His achievements included arguably the biggest shock in World Cup history, when his side beat South Africa 34-32 in the dying moments of their opening match of the tournament this year.
Japan went on to win three of their four pool matches and their performance saw them move into the top 10 of the world rankings.
Following the tournament he was appointed Stormers coach, before agreeing terms with the RFU.
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