Money no object for RFU after Lancaster quits

Lancaster fell on his sword following England’s disastrous World Cup campaign, which ended with them becoming the first host nation to be eliminated at the group stage.

In a statement released by the RFU, Lancaster expressed his ‘sadness’ at the way his reign ended but accepted the ‘responsibility’ ultimately lay with him.

He becomes the first casualty of the huge missed opportunity the World Cup represented, but it appears that is as high as the fallout will go.

Yorkshireman Ritchie, who appointed Lancaster in the spring of 2012 and gave him a six-year contract a year before the World Cup, insisted he remains the right man for the chief executive role, and was backed by chairman Bill Beaumont to continue.

Lancaster’s off-field lieutenants have also survived, for now, with coaches Andy Farrell, Graham Rowntree and Mike Catt still under contract at the RFU.

Whether they survive under a new regime remains to be seen.

Ritchie confirmed last night that the governing body is looking for a coach with international experience, which is a tacit acknowledgment that they got it wrong this time.

“The priority is to take sufficient time to find the right person,” said Ritchie, when pressed as to whether the new man would be in place before the Six Nations start on February 6.

“It is not a matter of finances. The best coach is the most important criteria. It’s very important we get a head coach of proven international experience.”

Australia head coach Michael Cheika, Ireland’s Joe Schmidt, New Zealand backs coach Wayne Smith, former South Africa chief Jake White and Eddie Jones, who led Japan to three wins at the World Cup, are the leading international names linked to the post.

If the RFU choose to look closer to home, Saracens’ boss Mark McCall, Exeter’s Rob Baxter and Northampton’s Halifax-born director of rugby Jim Mallinder are all suitable candidates.

What is certain is that Lancaster will play no further role. There had been calls for him to retain a position within the organisation, given the sterling job he did in reconnecting the national team with their fanbase.

But the former Wakefield schoolteacher, who played for and coached Leeds during a two-decade spell, has ultimately paid the price for England’s World Cup failure, despite having five years left to run on his contract.

In a statement released yesterday lunchtime, the RFU said Lancaster had stood down by mutual consent. Ritchie expanded on that last night, having conducted a review that invited input from nearly 60 people, including England players.

“I spent several hours with Stuart and together we concluded that it was time for a change of head coach. This action was unanimously endorsed by the RFU board. I feel so sorry Stuart’s considerable effort did not come to the fruition it deserved.”

Lancaster won 28 of his 46 games in charge, having taken over initially in an interim basis in December, 2011. Crucially, though, he never won the Six Nations and his team were embarrassingly dumped out of their own World Cup after pool defeats against Wales and Australia.

“I am obviously extremely saddened to finish the way we did in this World Cup and to step down from the role,” said Lancaster.

“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. I did, however, want to take part in the review to ensure I understood the views of others before making a decision.

“The reality is that, while many aspects of the review were positive, we didn’t achieve success on the field when it mattered and we all have to take responsibility for that, me especially as head coach.

“I took on the role in difficult circumstances and it has been a huge challenge to transition the team with many hurdles along the way. However, I am immensely proud of the development of this team and I know that there is an incredibly strong foundation for them to progress to great things in the future.

“We have played some excellent rugby and it was always going to be tough to get the right level of experience in time for 2015.

“It is a young group of players with the huge majority available for the Rugby World Cup in Japan in 2019, where I believe their recent experience will make them genuine contenders.

“I would like to thank the players, coaches, management and everyone at the RFU for their commitment, support and hard work. I would like to thank the England fans, who always backed us and gave us amazing support.

“The team feels a close connection with everyone across the grassroots game, which has been important to us all.”