England rugby appoints new elite director

The Rugby Football Union has appointed former England first five-eighths Rob Andrew as England's elite rugby director, making him one of the most powerful figures in the game - and casting doubt over the future of Sir Clive Woodward.

The 43-year-old was chosen ahead of two distinguished figures in the international game - Woodward, who masterminded England's 2003 World Cup triumph, and Ian McGeechan, the former British Lions coach.

The appointment sees Andrew ending an 11-year association with Newcastle, during which he was in charge for a record 326 competitive games. The England and Lions first-five joined Newcastle from Wasps as a player in 1995, just as the English game went professional.

During his time there, he nurtured Jonny Wilkinson's career and on retiring as a player became director of rugby. He helped Newcastle climb out of the second tier of the game and win the Premiership in 1998, their first season in the top flight. Under Andrew, they also won the knockout cup in 2001 and 2004.

The Twickenham post is unprecedented in the world game, putting Andrew in charge of everything to do with England.

The double Cambridge blue (rugby and cricket), who won 71 caps for England, will head up a department which includes England's representative teams from the under-18s through to the national senior side; the national and regional academies, run in partnership with the Premiership clubs; the elite referees; and all matters of sports science and medicine.

Andrew's role is aimed at developing players for the international stage, with the ultimate aim being World Cup success. Realistically that will be expected in 2011, although next year's title defence in France will also come under his aegis.

Andrew will also be responsible for hiring and firing coaches and managers from top to bottom. Present England head coach Andy Robinson looks safe despite a run of five defeats but his side has to start winning again, beginning with New Zealand at Twickenham on November 5 - or he could find his head on the block.

Andrew is no stranger to the politics of English rugby and even as a player, he had an influential voice. He was behind the England squad's demand for financial reward for their intellectual property rights at the beginning of the 1990s. He served on the board of Club England and produced a blueprint for the future of the game, his "10-year plan" in 2000. His fresh-faced good looks and nickname - "Squeaky", as in clean - mask one of the toughest characters and sharpest minds in the English game.

Former England prop Jeff Probyn, an RFU council member, said: "It is a good move for rugby but anyone who thinks he is going to make a dramatic change immediately is living in cloud cuckoo land. It will take him a while to put right the mistakes that Woodward made."

The intriguing by-product of this appointment is what happens next for Woodward. He has made it clear he does not want to manage or coach a Premiership rugby club but has indicated he would eventually like to coach a Premiership football side. He now has Football Association coaching qualifications.

His current position as Southampton's technical director is seen as a precarious one.

Questions have been raised by Southampton's new owners about his role with the championship club which could see him forced out.

- INDEPENDENT