Woodward,
who also said he had no interest in being England coach again, did not mention
names but elite rugby director Rob Andrew was an implicit target.
“To put in a
rookie manager like Martin and to put no one alongside him, to let him run his
own ship for 3½ years without any analysis is so, so wrong,” said Woodward,
speaking on Sky Sports Rugby Club.
“Who made
these decisions? Martin had no coaching experience so it was a big risk. He
rang me before he took the job and I advised him not to take it. I told him
that he should earn his stripes at a club like Leicester, for example, earn his
credibility.
“I don’t see
Martin as a big risk-taker but he took a risk. And the union did, too, and to
negate that risk they should have put someone alongside him. For the union to
leave him on his own was wrong. It left him horribly exposed. It’s ended in
tears and someone should be accountable. As for me, I have no wish to coach
England again.”
Johnson was
a surprise attendee at Thursday’s Professional Game Board meeting in London
which was considering reviews from three different sources on England’s World Cup
campaign. He was accompanied by Andrew, who submitted his own report. There
were also reports from the players’ association and considerations canvassed
from the Premiership clubs.
“The members had a robust, open and detailed
discussion,” PGB review chairman Ian Metcalfe said. The body will now take time
to consider its recommendations before reporting to the RFU management board on
Nov 30. They heard concerns expressed over various aspects of the World Cup
campaign including conditioning, medical protocols and preparation.
Steve
Diamond, who knows Jim Mallinder as well as anyone in English rugby, has called
for “the dream ticket” of the Northampton head coach and Woodward to be paired
to launch England’s campaign towards the 2015 Rugby World Cup. “It would be a
marriage made in heaven,” said the Sale director of rugby, a former team-mate
of Mallinder at the Cheshire club, coaching colleague there, too, and with
England Saxons. Woodward was head coach of England at the time.
“Clive has
got fantastic vision and the ability to deal with a whole range of issues at
the union. It’s crying out for that. Jim would thrive as the front-of-house
head coach with someone of Clive’s stature there as the statesman figure of the
game. You’ve got to have a coach that coaches and that’s Jim’s forte.”
Diamond and
Mallinder go back 20 years. Their coaching alliance entailed a stint with the
Saxons when Woodward was in charge of the senior side.
“He rarely
interfered but he knew exactly what was going on,” said Diamond, who remained a
close ally of Mallinder even when he took up a post with Russia, leading them
to World Cup qualification for the first time. He was a scouting consultant for
Mallinder’s Northampton during those years. Wing Vasily Artemyev is at
Franklin’s Gardens this season.
Diamond
dismissed concerns that Mallinder might be too nice a guy to succeed. “He’s got
that hard streak, don’t worry about that,” he said. “Everyone knows who the
boss is. He’s definitely tough enough. He fits the bill for me.”
Northampton
stressed on Thursday they would do all they could to retain Mallinder. “I
wouldn’t want him to leave – that is a no-brainer,” chairman Leon Barwell said.
However, he
also said he would not deny Mallinder the right to pursue his personal goals,
even if he did not want to lose such a great asset should England come looking.
“I don’t
want to be seen to be building Jim up too much as if I’m keen for England to
come and get him,” said Barwell, son of Keith, the retired chairman and driving
force of the Saints for over two decades, and the man who brought Mallinder to
Franklin’s Gardens five years ago.
“Jim is a
great man-manager as well as a great rugby technician. It’s rare to have that
combination. He manages to draw the best from people, and that’s a precious
skill. His success is evident in where we are today as a club as to where we
were when Jim arrived.”
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