Woodward: 100% committed to Lions

Clive Woodward has said he is: "100% committed to the Lions. My commitment to them is absolute. I am taking no job from anyone until that is finished".

Woodward was talking to members of the press this morning after he yesterday resigned as England coach. He will step down for good after the Lions Tour.

“I am moving on for the right reasons. There is no job in rugby I would go to or any international team I would want to coach. I will be leaving rugby at end of the Lions tour.”

The 48-year-old claimed he had “loved every minute” of the job as head coach.

“This is the biggest job in world rugby. I have loved every minute of it but I do need to work somewhere.

“The Lions is going to be fantastic. I want to work with the Welsh, the Irish, the Scots. That is what I intend to do. I will be taking up no other employment until then. This season is about the Lions and nothing else.”

Woodward claimed some people would say ‘There goes Woody, whinging again” but added: “I cannot compromise. Winning is about inches. Look at Kelly Homes (double Olympic gold medallist at 800m and 1,500m in Athens), she won by inches.

“We won the World Cup by inches. You cannot compromise. We won the World Cup because we had an outstanding set of players.

“We prepared properly. But agreements have taken place between the RFU and clubs that on paper look great. They’re not in reality.

“I have had these discussions for so long. If I am in a minority of one, it doesn’t mean to say I am wrong.”

Woodward said he had considered his position for some time before coming to his decision to walk away from England.

“This is not a spur-of-the-moment decision. I have thought long and hard about this,” he said.

“I had two clear months in July and August to get my thoughts in line. It is not one thing, it is the whole combination of factors.”

RFU chief executive Francis Baron revealed he had been made aware of Woodward’s thinking almost a month ago.

“Clive advised me on August 12 of his thinking of his longer-term future,” he said.

“When we met on Wednesday [this week] he confirmed he still wished to move on. We spent quite a bit of time talking about the best arrangements to ensure a smooth transition regarding coaching arrangements.

“The conclusion of those discussions was that it was best for Clive to step aside immediately to ensure best preparation for the autumn internationals.

“Clearly Andy Robinson is in a very strong position, he is a strong candidate for the post.”