ROB ANDREW last night insisted he would not step down from his role at Twickenham as the fallout from England’s disastrous World Cup continued to increase the pressure upon him.
While he conceded English rugby has hit “rock bottom”, the elite rugby director again distanced himself from direct responsibility for events in New Zealand and rejected calls for his resignation.
Andrew said that he was “absolutely shattered” by events and should have done more to help Martin Johnson during the latter’s time as England team manager. Despite howls from within the game, however, he said he would not step down.
“No, I am not going to resign. If other people choose to make a decision that will be taken out of my hands.”
But the pressure has never been greater as English rugby plumbed new shambolic depths on a day when: – Brian Smith resigned as the England attack coach.
– The former England captain Martin Corry revealed Johnson quit last week because of lack of support from leading RFU officials.
– It emerged there would be no immediate decision on Mike Tindall’s appeal against his €29,000 fine and removal from the elite player squad.
– A number of former England players questioned the lack of leadership at the union.
– The former All Black wing and Italy and Japan coach John Kirwan said it would be “an honour” to succeed Johnson as England manager.
Smith’s decision not to seek a renewal of his contract was not a massive surprise, given the heavy criticism within the leaked post-World Cup player interviews published this week. The circumstances surrounding Johnson’s resignation, though, are becoming clearer. Corry, a former Leicester team-mate of Johnson, said: “There has been a distinct lack of leadership from the RFU, particularly since the World Cup. Instead they just stayed quiet and let Johno take all the shit.
“He won’t say it because he’s too much of a man but it forced his hand. He said: ‘I’m going to have to do the right thing and resign.’ That’s how he felt. It’s left England in limbo.”
It must be questionable whether Johnson could have survived Twickileaks, the blizzard of criticisms made by players during the post-World Cup review process that have been leaked, but Andrew’s position continues to look precarious.
He nevertheless is standing firm. “Of course I’ve considered my position,” he said. “There’s been soul-searching the whole time, it’s been a pretty tough 12 months for everybody here, there’s a lot of stuff going on that shouldn’t have been. But I don’t have to resign. Other people may have that point of view if they want but there are lots of things going on here. I run a big department and I have to find a head coach.”
Guardian Service
