Rugby: West End drives Woodward’s desire to win again

CLIVE WOODWARD soaked up the astounding scenes of celebration in London’s West End with obvious enjoyment but as soon as the victory parade for England’s World Cup triumph was over the team’s guiding force was already consigning the day to the history books.

Woodward believes professional sport is "a brutal business" and there was an implicit warning in his words that if any member of the England playing or coaching staff shows signs of resting on their laurels, he will find himself out of a job.

As for Woodward himself, he said simply: "This experience has if anything made me feel more determined to repeat the feat again."

The open-top bus tour through the centre of London was watched by hundreds of thousands of cheering supporters. The Metropolitan Police estimated 750,000 had turned out an attendance unprecedented in British sport.

The players braved icy temperatures on the open-top bus tour from Marble Arch to Trafalgar Square, and afterwards Woodward issued his warning about the cold wind of change in his World Cup-winning squad.

"For me, once January 1 comes the World Cup final will be history and we have to move on," Woodward said.

"We are there to give this group of players every chance of being successful, and they are perhaps the most experienced group of players in international rugby, but we won't stand still, and the coaching team won't stand still either.

"It's a brutal business but I am very clear that if we take our foot off the pedal there will be changes and that would include myself.

"We will enjoy the moment until January 1 and then we are looking forward to the Six Nations and beyond."