RUGBY:WARREN GATLAND has antagonised England ahead of next week's Six Nations opener in Cardiff by revealing he was approached three times by the Rugby Football Union before taking charge of Wales.

Gatland claims he was contacted by headhunters about taking up the role of elite rugby director before Rob Andrew was appointed in 2006. He says he was then twice contacted about the England coach’s job during the following year’s World Cup after the team had suffered a heavy defeat by South Africa in their pool.

“I flew to Sydney to meet the headhunter,” said Gatland. “Francis Baron (the then RFU chief executive) had commissioned a guy to find people for the elite post. He had come out from England and he was meeting a couple of Australians as well. He told me about the job but I said I preferred hands-on coaching and that I was not ready for an administrative role. The RFU called back again and said I could turn the role into whatever I wanted.”

Despite Brian Ashton leading England to the World Cup final in 2007, Gatland says he was approached during the tournament but never met Andrew over the coach’s job.

“A couple of agents called me directly as I do not have an agent myself,” Gatland said. “They said Rob Andrew would like to call me and I said that would be no problem. He never rang and I don’t know if that was because he did not want to or because he was hamstrung at the time.”

England’s latest injury worry is Gloucester centre Mike Tindall, who has flown home early from the squad’s camp in Portugal for a scan on a damaged thigh.