Woodward warns of RFU 'parasites'
Former England coach Sir Clive Woodward has urged Martin Johnson to demand the title of 'Head Coach' in his negotiations with the Rugby Football Union (RFU).
Former England coach Sir Clive Woodward has urged Martin Johnson to demand the title of 'Head Coach' in his negotiations with the Rugby Football Union (RFU).
The former Lions, England and Leicester captain is expected to be named England's 'Team Manager' in the next few days.
But Woodward, who led England to their 2003 World Cup triumph in Australia, believes Johnson should target a bigger role – and get his boots back on.
“Get your hands dirty and coach. If I were Martin, I would demand the title of Head Coach,” Woodward wrote in The Sunday Times.
“If he does not take an active part, he will find it very hard to gain the respect of the players.
“If he simply stands there watching and snarling he will soon be unpicked by everybody.”
Woodward backed Johnson as the man to reestablish England as a world force but he warned that he must not be distracted by “parasites” and “termites” within Rugby House.
“Martin should surround himself with people he gets on with, people he can have fun with and people he can trust when the pressure comes on,” wrote Woodward.
“Beware the parasites – 95 per cent of RFU ofï¬cials are supportive but others can be obstructive. Identify the parasite early – they may try to confuse you by not wearing a blazer on match days.
“Beware the termites. Often they are old internationals used to coming second, and jealous of any winning structure.”
And Woodward sees little likelihood of Brian Ashton, the current coach, being absorbed into Johnson's panel or Jake White, South Africa's 2007 World Cup-winning coach, who has expressed an interest in the England job.
“Frankly, if Martin keeps Ashton under him or goes for White, it would smack of a compromise. It could be dangerous. I cannot imagine either Jake or Brian sitting down having a few beers with Martin and chewing the fat all night,” he wrote.
“[But] he will need a mentor urgently – [former Australia coach] Eddie Jones could be the right man for the role in the short term.”
And Woodward believes Johnson should turn to members of the 2003 World Cup-winning squad.
“It would be a mistake thinking Martin has to bring in a massively experienced coach,” he said.
“If he goes to the 2003 World Cup team, there are people he knows and can trust, they are special people who operated in a fantastic environment.”
Woodward was also severely critical of the influence of Rob Andrew, the RFU's director of elite rugby, and is worried that Andrew will not be the kind of ally Johnson needs in the political minefield of Twickenham.
“Andrew has never coached or managed Test teams – he was voted by my coaching team in 2003, when he was still at Newcastle, as the worst director of rugby, and by some margin. ” wrote Woodward.
“He and his teams seemed dull and boring, and he was, to me, a million miles away from the profile of a successful coach, let alone an international one.
“Martin must categorically demand that he reports only to [RFU chief executive Francis] Baron, as I did. Any line of communication apart from that would be an utter nonsense.
“But at a time when Martin needs support, how supportive will Andrew be given the disgraceful handling of poor Ashton of late, and given that Andrew has appointed him twice already?”