Incredibly, next month marks 30 years since Carling was named as the youngest ever Red Rose captain aged just 22.
The Harlequins centre went on to skipper his country a record 59 times, winning back-to-back Five Nations Grand Slams in 1991-92 and another in 1995.
And Jones has now hired Carling, a man who also led England to the 1991 World Cup final, to help turn his own World Cup dream chasers into leaders thanks to the new part-time role.
After interviewing other England legends, Jones said: “I have met Will continuously over the last two years and I think he can add value to the senior players in the squad with his experience.
“I considered a number of people and a number of people and I feel that Will is the best equipped to handle it. He joins the great past of England to the present.
"It is a similar thing to what the All Blacks have done with great players and I think Will can player a role for us.
“He’s a bit of specialist in leadership. He understands English rugby. He understands what made English rugby great, so combining the skill of leadership with the knowledge of English history is a nice resource for us to have."
Carling has got stuck into the RFU before and famously called the Twickenham committee '57 old farts'.
The appointment could also prove awkward for Richard Wigglesworth, who three years ago slammed Carling after he said Stuart Lancaster treated his players like "schoolboys" after their embarrassing 2015 World Cup.
Saracens scrum-half Wigglesworth fumed at the time: "I'm p***ed off.
"He hasn't played the game for how long? Let's have a meaningful discussion about his knowledge and what he knows about the game."
But Jones believes that is all water under the bridge for Carling, 52, who was writing a column for SunSport at the time.
He said: "If it works, we’ll keep it going. If it doesn’t, then he might be back on The Sun.
“I’ve thought about it all along particularly because I’m not English. I can’t preach to the players about having pride in England. I don’t attempt to. I have always said that. I’ve thought that we have had possibly a gap in that area.
“We’ve got Steve Borthwick an ex-England captain, but it is nice to have something from the past. I have seen it work well for the All Blacks. I have seen it work well for Australia and Japan too.
"They all have someone from the past that keeps that connection in place. I think that’s important and that is what he will bring."
Source: Read Full Article