Rugby: Woodward eyes further glory
The ambition of Woodward has transformed England from perennial underachievers to world champions with Saturday's 20-17 victory over the Wallabies in Sydney proving the undoubted highlight of his six-year stint in charge.
But the coach, contracted to guide the national side through the 2007 World Cup, is not finished yet as he plots to lead English rugby into its "golden age."
"We set out a few years ago to become the number one team in the world. The only way you can say that is if you've got the World Cup sitting with you and we have that," said Woodward yesterday morning.
"But it's not the end of it for us it's just a good staging post and I really hope it all kicks on now to a real golden age of English rugby."
Woodward dismissed yesterday's report that he had been approached by the FA with a view to steering England to similar success on the football field and then insisted even his current position is not entirely safe.
"My job is coaching the England rugby team. I've recently signed a new contract with the Rugby Football Union and I'm looking forward to seeing that. Being a professional coach in any sport is a precarious job it's all about the next game and that's it," he said.
Woodward admitted he was shocked at the vast numbers of supporters waiting to welcome England at Heathrow yesterday morning and revealed his side's remarkable achievement was just starting to hit home.
"We were absolutely gob-smacked by the English support at the final, it's something that I will never forget. But when we arrived at the airport that was very, very special. What we've done has started to sink in," he said.
Meanwhile, Martin Johnson yesterday reiterated his determination not to make any rash decision over his international future.
The 33-year-old England captain has won every honour in the game following the World Cup triumph over Australia, prompting some observers including Rob Andrew to suggest that now the time is right for him to bow out.
But Johnson revealed that coach Clive Woodward had slapped a ban on any retirement announcements in the aftermath of the tournament and the Leicester forward is happy to give the matter further consideration.
"People have been asking me for the last 18 months when will I retire.
"I've told them all along that I would not be thinking about retiring before a World Cup," said Johnson. "Clive was quite right when he said he didn't want anyone talking about quitting during or immediately after the World Cup.
"He said to those of us who are getting on a bit that we must fend off questions about it. It's not right to make a decision like that now there are a lot of emotions flying around. We've just won the World Cup so it's the wrong time to make a decision, just like if we'd been knocked out in the quarters or the semis.
"We need time to reflect and speak to the coaches and our family. No one wants to stop playing for England, especially when you're winning there's nothing better.
"It's a decision which each player has to make for themselves.
"I'll do it when the time is right."
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