Woodward says ‘elite athletes’ are England’s future

CLIVE WOODWARD has claimed if England are to have any hope of retaining the World Cup then they need to develop elite athletes.

He dismissed as “nonsense” a suggestion from Rugby Football Union chairman Martyn Thomas that top players should play a maximum of 28 games a season.

“The whole issue is very simple,” said Woodward, who led England to World Cup success in 2003.