Thursday 12 November 2015 11:22, UK
Sir Clive Woodward has urged the RFU to exhaust English options to replace Stuart Lancaster before considering a foreign appointment.
In a column for the Daily Mail, Woodward - who ruled himself out of returning as head coach - backed the decision to move on from Lancaster following England's disastrous World Cup campaign.
A string of big-name foreign coaches have been linked with the role, but Woodward believes the RFU need to take their time and implement a structure which better utilises the internal rugby resources already within England.
"They are under pressure and feel as though they have to make a big appointment here," Woodward said.
"And after all, who could blame them again down the line if they were to appoint a big name now? But it is a shame some of our proven Premiership coaches - probably headed by Northampton's Jim Mallinder and Exeter's Rob Baxter - will not be considered.
"There are some seriously great specialist English coaches such as Shaun Edwards and Steve Borthwick who could also have had a role to play.
"Add to that, we must find a way of tapping into some of the great English rugby brains out there - Lawrence Dallaglio, Ben Kay, Will Greenwood, Matt Dawson. Time is of the essence but let's see if there is not an English way forward first before we bolt for an overseas coach."
RFU chief executive Ian Ritchie will lead the search for England's new head coach, 13 months after handing a six-year contract extension to Lancaster and his assistant coaches.
Woodward was highly critical of Ritchie's role in the process and suggested it would be hypocritical for England to consider appointing a foreign coach while at the same time prohibiting its international players from playing abroad.
I would love to know the specifics behind this. So we can't pick players who play abroad but we can employ coaches who come from abroad? How ridiculous.
"I was fervently hoping for real change from top to bottom, with Ritchie admitting serious errors in the appointments and the structure of English rugby that has left us in this mess," Woodward said.
"At Wednesday's press conference, Ritchie confirmed he will lead the search for the next England coach, that the next England coach will report to him and that he will appoint someone with international coaching experience.
"I would love to know the specifics behind this. So we can't pick players who play abroad but we can employ coaches who come from abroad? How ridiculous.
"Anyone could point to the likes of Wales coach Warren Gatland, Australia's Michael Cheika, New Zealand's Steve Hansen, Ireland's Joe Schmidt, former South Africa coach Jake White or Japan's Eddie Jones and say they're good coaches with international rugby pedigree.
"But there is so much more to the appointment than that - especially in England. 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 into him in the years which follow."
Woodward also said he would like to see a director of rugby appointed who can take some of the burden off the head coach and believes Lancaster became sidetracked by peripheral issues not connected to team success.
"I think he became distracted by a number of idealistic causes which have come at the cost of performance, be it the perfect number of average caps in a squad or the continued push to connect fans to the team and restore pride in the shirt," Woodward said.
"These campaigns have come at the cost of ruthless clarity on winning the next game. That is what being a head coach is all about. If you get that right, the rest follows. Building for the future was not his mandate, and it is where everything has become unravelled in recent months."
