Storyline: England rugby is looking for a new head man. Who’s high on the replacement list? Written by Craig Simpkin, London. For sports news and views Craig recommends reading Bet Advisor.com.
It’s one of the biggest jobs in rugby union – not to mention one of the best paid – and so there will be no shortage of applicants to replace Stuart Lancaster as the coach of the English national team.
Twickenham chief executive, Ian Ritchie, has already stated that “this is not a matter of financial considerations” as the RFU scour the globe looking for the right man to fill the void following England’s disastrous World Cup showing. They were knocked out in the group stages of a tournament in which they were heavily tipped to go far.
And it seems that the RFU are willing to take their time in finding the right man to take English rugby forward. Ritchie said “We need to get the best possible coach and we will do that without any inhibition. “We’re looking for a head coach with international experience and a proven ability. It doesn’t rule out a foreign coach or English. The nationality is not important — getting the right coach is important.”
Former World Cup winner, Will Greenwood, now pundit for Sky Sports, has drawn up a shortlist of ‘super coaches,’ “I think they will go with one of the super coaches, a coach that has won big tournaments, whether it be in Super Rugby, European Cups, Tri Nations, Rugby Championships, grand slams and even World Cups. That list appears to be Warren Gatland, Steve Hansen, Wayne Smith, and Joe Schmidt. These sorts of characters have vast pedigree in terms of winning major trophies.”
By implying that a foreign national would be considered, a flurry of bets has been placed on South African, Jake White, to take up the mantle. The 52-year-old was at the helm of his native team when it knocked England out of the 2007 World Cup. He is currently employed by the Top 14 side Montpellier in France.
And the man himself was quick to throw his hat into the ring: “If the RFU think I’m the right guy I’d put my hand up. It would be naive for me to say I wasn’t interested,” White told reporters. “It is one of the sought-after jobs in world rugby. They’re the sleeping giants and have all the resources. Most coaches throughout the world would put their hands up.”
Such positivity has seen White’s odds slashed at the bookmakers to as short as 4.50, although he is likely to face stiff opposition for the role from a number of candidates. Eddie Jones (8.00), whose Japan side played such engaging, fearless running rugby at the World Cup, will be high up on the RFU’s shortlist, as will be Ireland’s indefatigable Kiwi coach, Joe Schmidt (17.00). The dream candidate would be Michael Cheika (15.00), although it remains to be seen whether he could be tempted away from his current role at Australia given his team’s fantastic performances at the tournament.
Other names which feature prominently are Wayne Smith (10.00), widely regarded as one of the best coaches in the world and someone who has already enjoyed a stint in English rugby at the helm of Northampton Saints; Mike Ford (8.00), who was part of the England coaching team that led them to the final of the 2007 World Cup; and Jim Mallender (9.00), who has worked wonders at a domestic level with Sale and Northampton. But the people’s choice might be Shaun Edwards (17.00). The Englishman has worked wonders with Wales in his stint there.
To his credit, Stuart Lancaster has come out in the press in recent times and admitted that England’s performances at the World Cup simply weren’t good enough. After pocketing a £380,000 pay-off on Monday he said “I am obviously extremely saddened to finish the way we did in this World Cup and to step down. We didn’t achieve success on the field when it mattered. We all have to take responsibility for that but me especially as head coach.”
Wins over Fiji and Uruguay were regulation enough, but the defeat to Wales – which ultimately cost England their place in the knockout phase (after leading 25-18 with just ten minutes to play) was a sickener. The comprehensive nature of the 13-33 loss to Australia confirmed for the RFU the need to headhunt a replacement for Lancaster.
