 Rob Andrew was made the RFU's elite rugby director in August 2006 |
Director of elite rugby Rob Andrew has ruled out a return to the Rugby Football Union for Sir Clive Woodward. "No, I don't think so," Andrew replied when asked about a possible position for the World Cup-winning coach. Former England captain Lawrence Dallaglio has called for Woodward to oversee England manager Martin Johnson. But Andrew told BBC 5 Live: "People talk about Clive mentoring Martin, I think sometimes during Clive's reign it was actually Martin mentoring Clive." Woodward, currently the director of elite performance for the British Olympic Association, resigned as England manager in September 2004, citing a lack of control over access to players. His departure came less than a year after he masterminded England's first World Cup triumph with Johnson as his captain. He spoke out after England's 42-6 defeat by South Africa in last year's Autumn internationals, contrasting the result with a 50-point victory over the Springboks during his own time in charge and calling for a review of the RFU's management and coaching set-up.  | 606: DEBATE |
But Andrew insisted that he was happy with the framework around the England team. "We've got a very good performance structure at the RFU that we've put in place over the last two years. Clive's obviously got a very big job with the BOA, but I think also we have got to let Martin get on and build a team in his own image," he added on BBC Radio 5 Live's Sportsweek. Andrew says Johnson, who has lost five of his seven games since taking over in July 2008, will be given time to improve the form that has left England ranked eighth in the world. "Martin knows exactly what he wants to do. He has made massive strides in six months. We always knew it was going to be a difficult task. We want to rebuild and Martin is the guy to do that."
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