Clive Woodward
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Sir Clive Ronald Woodward, OBE (born 6 January 1956 at Ely in Cambridgeshire) is a former English rugby union international who was the coach of the England rugby union team from 1997 to 2004. Woodward managed the England side to victory at the 2003 Rugby World Cup.
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Early life
The son of a RAF pilot, Woodward was sent to HMS Conway School Ship as his father disapproved of his ambition to play professional soccer. At Conway he played rugby union at centre alongside a fly-half Iain Duncan Smith, who would later become leader of the Conservative Party. According to Clive Woodward, he was not selected to play for the Welsh Schoolboys side even though he was good enough and played rugby union for a Welsh school because he was English.
He applied to do a law degree at Durham University but was turned down and instead he got a job in a bank in London.
Playing career
His first club was Harlequins but he left to go to Loughborough University where he gained a Bachelor of Arts degree in sports science followed by a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE). He then played as a centre for Leicester Tigers from 1979 to 1985. He made his England debut against Ireland on January 19 1980, as a replacement and went on to gain 21 caps for his country, playing his last game on March 17 1984 against Wales. He toured South Africa with the British Lions in 1980. He was most noted for his centre partnership with fellow Tiger Paul Dodge. At a time when England played 'safety-first' conservative rugby, Woodward favoured a more expansive game, and his style and ambition yielded both great tries and embarrassing errors.
Australia
In 1985 he transferred office from Xerox in the UK to Xerox in Australia. He continued to play rugby, for Manly, and even trained once with the Wallabies. There he learned about Australian rugby which was considered to be at a more advanced developmental stage than that in Britain. Woodward came to believe that the Southern hemisphere teams were not invincible and with the right preparation could be beaten.
Rugby coaching career
He returned to the UK in 1990 where he became coach of the then obscure Henley, who were promoted to the national leagues. After a short but successful spell of coaching at London Irish, he was unable to handle the politics of the club and was forced out. He became assistant coach at the Leicester's arch rivals Bath under Andy Robinson, and when Jack Rowell retired as coach of the England team in 1997, Woodward acquired the job almost by default.
He had the job of transforming the England side from the amateur era into the professional one. Having been misquoted as requesting that the press judge him on England's performance at the 1999 Rugby World Cup when they were beaten by South Africa after Jannie de Beer's 5 drop goals, his job was questioned. The team developed and subsequently won a Grand Slam in 2003 followed by the 2003 Rugby World Cup, beating the reigning champions Australia in the final. He was knighted (KBE) in the 2004 New Year's honours.
After the 2003 RWC, England came third in the 2004 RBS Six Nations (behind Grand Slam winners France and Triple Crown winners Ireland). His last tour as England coach came shortly afterwards, with an ill-fated tour of New Zealand and Australia. England were demolished by the All Blacks in two tests, going down 36-3 in the first and 36-12 in the second. England were beaten without scoring a single try. The team then went to Australia, where they were beaten 51-15.
In February 2004 he was appointed Head Coach for the 2005 British and Irish Lions tour to New Zealand. The tour, however, was a disaster, the Lions losing the test series 3-0. Woodward's management was heavily criticised by both players and commentators, for his initial squad selection, his coaching methods, his handling of the players and the media, his selections on tour - particularly for keeping faith with the England players he knew well - and for not allowing the test team any time to play together before the test series began.
Resignation and football coaching
Woodward's contract with England was due to run until 2007. Following the retirement of key players like Lawrence Dallaglio and Martin Johnson, and some very poor results after the World Cup success, he again struggled to cope with the politics of English rugby, particularly the Premiership clubs' relations with the England management. Woodward was linked with a switch to football (soccer) and, although he had denied these rumours, on September 1 2004, Woodward announced that he would be quitting as England coach.
Initially, a move to Southampton Football Club seemed likely, as Woodward was a friend of chairman Rupert Lowe. Lowe discussed this possibility with the club's board on September 2,2004. However, in his resignation press conference, Woodward said that his intention was to take the Football Association's Grade Two coaching badges after the 2005 British and Irish Lions tour to New Zealand:
- I'm interested in football, I intend to do the awards but I may end up coaching Maidenhead under-nines. You have to start at the bottom and I intend to do that.
However, Woodward continued his move into the Football League in 2005 by becoming Performance Director at Southampton Football Club, without undertaking any coaching at non-league clubs. With no experience of professional football, he again had problems with the politics of the situation, and had a difficult relationship with the club's manager Harry Redknapp. For example, his appointee as head of sports science, Simon Clifford, left the club in November 2005, after only two months, amid resentment from the club's existing staff.
Following the departure of Redknapp in December 2005, Woodward was suggested as a possible candidate for the manager's position at the Championship club, despite his lack of experience in the game.
Subsquently, he was appointed Director of Football to work alongside newly appointed Head Coach, George Burley.
See also
External link
| Preceded by: Jack Rowell | English national rugby coach 1997-2004 | Followed by: Andy Robinson (Contracted until June 2008) |