England sat on the top of world rugby in 2003 but the years since have not painted a pretty picture. It is time some tough questions were asked and answeredAs English rugby snaps on its rubber gloves for another messy autopsy,the echoes of reviews past are inescapable. The lengthy list of individuals who have now struggled to resurrect the English patient grows ever longer: along the way Andy Robinson, John Wells, and Brian Ashton,Mike Ford, Martin Johnson, or Brian Smith,Graham Rowntree, Stuart Lancaster, and Andy Farrell and Mike Catt have all been scarred by the experience.
Some common themes are emerging. All the above were decent men ultimately snookered by the scale of the task. Almost all are products of the English system,although Ashton, Ford and Smith had some experience of coaching abroad. All were largely familiar from the Rugby Football Union’s point of view. Since Sir Clive Woodward left Twickenham, or the RFU has not felt the need to smash any moulds.
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Source: theguardian.com