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Last Updated: Monday, 13 November 2006, 13:37 GMT
Robinson to stay as England coach
Andy Robinson pictured during England's defeat by Argentina
Robinson's side have now lost seven matches in a row
Andy Robinson is to remain as England's head coach for the autumn Tests against South Africa, elite director of rugby Rob Andrew has confirmed.

England were beaten 25-18 by Argentina on Saturday and have slumped to seventh in the latest world rankings.

Robinson met Rugby Football Union chairman Martyn Thomas, chief executive Francis Baron, Club England chairman John Spencer and Andrew on Monday.

Andrew said there would be "further reviews" after the South Africa Tests.

He added: "It was an open and frank two-hour meeting where we all exchanged our views on England's performance against Argentina and recent results.

"The Investec Challenge games are a four-Test series and Andy remains in charge for that.

LATEST WORLD RANKINGS
1 New Zealand 94.06pts
2 France 86.39pts
3 Australia 85.50pts
4 South Africa 85.24pts
5 Ireland 83.81pts
6 Argentina 79.01pts
7 England 78.14pts
8 Scotland 77.72pts
9 Wales 77.02pts
"We will conduct further reviews in the week following the first and second Tests against South Africa to assess England's performances and results.

"Andy is determined to turn England around to winning ways and his and the squad's focus is on beating South Africa this Saturday."

Robinson is contracted until next year's World Cup, but Andrew was unable to offer any guarantees about his future beyond the end of the month.

"I said when I took the job that nobody's position was absolutely guaranteed, and that is exactly the position now," he said.

"But this is a four-game series and we are not going to make a knee-jerk decision halfway through the series."

606: DEBATE
FJ
Andrew dismissed any notion that he might be tempted to step into the breach himself if performances do not improve under Robinson.

"It is not something we are contemplating; we haven't even discussed that as part of my job description," he said.

"It is a hypothetical question anyway, but I have no desire to be head coach."

Argentina's victory saw them leapfrog England into sixth in the International Rugby Board world rankings.

Before the autumn Tests started, Andrew said he would accept four defeats if it meant England were making progress towards next year's World Cup, but conceded Saturday's display was a "step back".

"It was poor - it was unacceptable," he added. "Andy is very disappointed and fans showed their disappointment, quite rightly.

We need to look at the leadership of this group moving forward to find a World Cup captain

Rob Andrew
"I think there were signs of progress against New Zealand but that wasn't maintained against Argentina, which is what we were looking for.

"Had it been maintained, I think we would have won the game. But we didn't and we have to look at why that was."

Andrew, Robinson and his fellow coaches held a selection meeting later on Monday, with the team for the first Test against South Africa set to be announced on Tuesday.

Even allowing for the fact that no players are allowed to play more than three of the four autumn Tests, there could be some high-profile casualties, with the likes of captain Martin Corry and fly-half Charlie Hodgson under pressure.

"There were some directional issues at the weekend, and I am not just talking about the captain, but some leading players and decision-makers as well," Andrew added.

"It was an issue we were looking at very closely going into the autumn and we have learnt some very interesting lessons already in the first two Tests.

"We need to look at the leadership of this group moving forward to find a World Cup captain, and that process is still on-going."

SEE ALSO
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I will not resign, says Robinson
12 Nov 06 |  Rugby Union
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11 Nov 06 |  Rugby Union
England 18-25 Argentina
11 Nov 06 |  Rugby Union
England v Argentina statistics
11 Nov 06 |  Rugby Union
International rugby union photos
11 Nov 06 |  Rugby Union
England 20-41 New Zealand
05 Nov 06 |  Rugby Union
Andrew gives Robinson ultimatum
07 Sep 06 |  Rugby Union


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