There’s been soul-searching for 12 tough months, says Andrew

Rob Andrew admitted the Rugby Football Union had hit “rock bottom” following the publication of damning reports into England’s failed World Cup campaign.

But England’s under-fire elite rugby director once again insisted yesterday he would not be resigning, despite accepting his part of the blame for the World Cup fiasco.

The pressure on Andrew to quit has increased since the published excerpts from three leaked World Cup reviews, which paint the picture of a dysfunctional England squad and a coaching team out of its depth.

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Martin Johnson resigned as the team manager last week and attack coach Brian Smith, criticised heavily by some players in the leaked report, stood down yesterday.

Sports Minister Hugh Robertson has said that Andrew’s department needs immediate reform after it failed the England team during the tournament.

After trying to dodge the dirt last week, Andrew has accepted he let Johnson down and that he was ultimately responsible for the England team.

But after taking time to consider his position, Andrew confirmed he would not voluntarily be following Johnson or Smith through the Twickenham exit door.

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“I am absolutely shattered by what is going on both on and off the field,” said Andrew, who added he was “disgusted” by the leaks.

“The RFU has to sort itself out. This is rock bottom, the lowest of the low, and it can’t be allowed to continue.

“The reality of my job is that I am not the England team manager. I am the elite rugby director and I run a big department.

“But I absolutely accept responsibility for what is going on here.

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“The World Cup was not what it should have been. The players have let themselves down, the coaches have maybe not done as good a job as they should, I’ve not done as good a job as I should have done.

“I should have supported Martin more and we should have done better.

“Of course I’ve considered my position. There’s been soul-searching the whole time, it’s been a pretty tough 12 months for everybody here.

“Does it mean I’m going to resign? No, I’m not. Does it mean it’s all broken? No, it doesn’t.”

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The RFU launched an investigation on Wednesday into the leaking of the three confidential reports into England’s World Cup campaign.

Detailed contents from the reviews, which were compiled by the RFU, the Rugby Players’ Association and the Aviva Premiership clubs, appeared across eight pages of The Times. More excerpts were published yesterday.

The RFU’s disciplinary chief Judge Jeff Blackett is to appoint an independent investigator to take charge of the inquiry and deliver his findings within two weeks.

Andrew described the leaks as “disgusting” and insisted the published comments were “not a fair reflection” of the work down by the players, Johnson or the England coaches.

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“I wish I knew who it was (who leaked the reports). We’ve got to find out because it’s just not right,” Andrew said.

“This has got to stop for the good of the game. It is not what rugby is about.

“The review process has been betrayed and that’s unacceptable.

“But you have to put the comments in context. When you get anonymous information like this you have a huge responsibility to deal with that information correctly because you are putting peoples’ reputations and lives at risk here.”

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The only England coach to escape from the published comments with his reputation enhanced was scrum specialist Graham Rowntree.

Meanwhile, the RFU moved Mike Tindall’s appeal hearing to a secret location away from Twickenham and delayed the announcement of a verdict.

Tindall is appealing against the RFU’s decision to fine him £25,000 for his conduct relating to a drunken night out in Queenstown during the World Cup.

UNDER-FIRE SMITH RESIGNS HIS POST

Brian Smith yesterday quit as England’s attack coach.

The Rugby Football Union confirmed the news yesterday afternoon, which followed team manager Martin Johnson’s resignation earlier this month and comes after Australian Smith was heavily criticised in a leaked players’ report which followed the calamitous World Cup campaign.

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Smith was recruited to the management team by Johnson in July 2008 having previously been director of rugby at London Irish. He has decided not to seek a renewal of his contract with the RFU.

One player was reported to have said: “I would be delighted if he went.

“Our attack play was boring, uninventive, lacklustre, even schoolboy at times.”

Another is reported to have said: “If we’d got to the semi-finals or final it would have papered over the cracks and the worst thing is Brian Smith would have stayed in his job. It might be a blessing.”

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Smith is understood to have already been sounding out coaching roles in Australia.

He said: “I feel that England have made great strides in the last three years and although the World Cup was a massive disappointment, we have won 10 out of the last 13 games, including beating Australia back-to-back and winning the RBS Six Nations for the first time since 2003.

“Johnno appointed me and gave me the opportunity, and that’s something I will be forever grateful for.

“He has been fantastic to work for and has always given 100 per cent and maintained the utmost integrity. Working with the other coaches has also been a positive experience and I wish them all well.”

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Reacting to Smith’s decision to follow him out of the door at Twickenham, Johnson said: “I want to thank him for what he has done for the England team and for the young players that he has brought on.”