That warning has been heeded by the RFU, judging by the criteria laid out by chief executive Ian Ritchie at a Twickenham press conference on Wednesday.
Advertisement
Wales rugby coach Warren Gatland has counted himself out of the contest to be England’s next rugby coach.
“Western Province is one of the oldest and most prestigious unions in the world, with 125 years of history at this ground”.
“But if the RFU were genuine about picking a foreign coach and considered me to be the right man for the job, it would be naive of me to tell you I wasn’t interested”.
Yesterday, the RFU launched a global search for a new head coach after Stuart Lancaster quit in the wake of the team’s disastrous World Cup.
The New Zealander has led Wales to two Six Nations Grand Slams, plus World Cup semi-final and quarter-final appearances during his eight-year reign.
“I am obviously extremely saddened to finish the way we did in this World Cup and to step down from the role”, Lancaster said in the RFU statement.
England have largely stuttered and stalled since 2003, and they now find themselves ranked a lowly eighth in the world, although talents like George Ford, Anthony Watson, Jonathan Joseph and Joe Launchbury suggest that exciting times could lie ahead.
” I simply do not believe Ritchie, who does not know a ruck from a maul, is the right man to lead this appointment, let alone have the new man report to him in the years which follow”.
White, 52, has twice been overlooked for the job by the RFU, when Martin Johnson took control in 2008 and when Lancaster was handed the reins in 2012. The hunt for his replacement starts now but it is understood that the Scottish Rugby Union have had no approach about Vern Cotter, whose worldwide profile rose considerably over the course of the World Cup.
Meanwhile, Jones said in South Africa he was committed to the Stormers Super Rugby team, which he took over on November 1.
Chief executive Ritchie refused to consider his own position, before targeting a head coach of “proven worldwide experience” – leaving Michael Cheika, Eddie Jones and Wayne Smith at the front of a potential hit-list.
“I don’t duck the accountability and responsibility but I think it’s a matter for the chairman and the board as well whether my situation is as it is”.
Advertisement
He said any switch from Wales to England was not on his radar but media outlets in the United Kingdom continue to spout the theory that money will persuade Gatland to change his mind.
