World Cup failure ends Lancaster England reign

‘Future bright for largely youthful England side’

LONDON, Nov 11, (AFP): Stuart Lancaster carried the can for England’s woeful World Cup campaign when he stepped down as head coach on Wednesday.

Lancaster’s departure, three-and-a-half years after his appointment, was “by mutual consent”, according to a statement issued by England’s governing Rugby Football Union. His exit was expected in the light of a World Cup which saw England become the first host nation to be eliminated in the group phase.

“I am obviously extremely saddened to finish the way we did in this World Cup and to step down from the role,” Lancaster said in the RFU statement. “As I have always said, I ultimately accept and take responsibility for the team’s performance and we have not delivered the results we all hoped for during this tournament,” added Lancaster.

The 46-year-old won 28 of his 46 Tests in charge and took England to four successive second-place finishes in the Six Nations Championship without winning the title.

However, this year’s World Cup was always his primary objective.

It proved a spectacular failure, with England crashing out following defeats by Wales and Australia, while Lancaster faced strong criticism for unsuccessful

Lancaster Brazil’s Danilo (right), and Filipe Luis train in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Nov 11 Brazil will face Argentina in a 2018 World Cup

qualifying soccer match on Nov 12 in Buenos Aires. (AP)