Woodward: RFU are a “laughing stock”

CLIVE WOODWARD has claimed the RFU has reduced England to a “laughing stock” and is doomed to make the same mistakes again as they seek to replace Martin Johnson.

Woodward, the coach of England’s World Cup-winning team in 2003, has launched a withering attack on the game’s administrators and the process used to appoint Johnson.

Woodward said: “Martin Johnson has gone but has anything else changed? I have a serious fear that all the mistakes made at Twickenham, which have reduced England to something of a laughing stock around the world, are about to be made again and four more years will then be wasted. There is nobody who understands elite performance and rugby at the very top. Equally disturbing, the same people are going to appoint the next coach.”

Woodward singled out elite rugby director Rob Andrew and his role. “He refused last week at a press conference to take any responsibility for the past shambles,” Woodward said.

“The absolute key question for me is whether he has the skill set to appoint the new coach. Experience says he does not.”

Woodward says Johnson should not have been handed the job in 2008 due to his lack of experience. “He has the qualities to be an outstanding coach, just as good as he was a player and captain, but even he cannot learn this job at the very top level on the hoof,” he said.