I’LL TALK IF RFU CALL ME

IF England approached me, would I listen to them? Of course I would, but whether the RFU part ways with Stuart Lancaster is a big decision. A review is needed to find out why they changed strategy halfway through the World Cup. A lot of time has been invested in Lancaster and his squad have enormous potential, so he needs to convince the board that he can take those youngsters forward to 2019. He must show guys like Ian Ritchie that he will learn from his mistakes and if he can’t do that, I think he should go. There will be a lot of contenders queuing up for his job, but it’s a case of deciding what the RFU want and then finding that person. In England, you’ve got guys like Dean Richards and Jim Mallinder, who are probably the stand-out contenders. If they decide to go international, I’m sure Jake White would be happy to talk, but I’m not sure Wayne Smith would be interested. And then there’s Clive Woodward, if they want to look back even further. A double act between Clive and myself would be interesting! It’s not the sort of job I’ll go out chasing, but I’d certainly chat to them if they thought I was the right man. Things started to go wrong during the Six Nations. They were trying to play a ball-in-hand game, but George Ford in the No 10 jersey was key to that strategy. When they got to the most important game of the World Cup, against Wales, it all went out the window. They brought in Owen Farrell and changed to a more direct game. They went away from what they had practised for most of the year. If you don’t have clarity, you have a problem.