Once upon a time, the RFU appointed a brand new manager for the English national team. He came to the role with very little experience of management at international level and even had only a limited amount of success at club level. But what he was still able to do was rejuvenate the squad with new, previously overlooked players and injected a new level of energy with his different approach to management.
You could be forgiven for thinking that this was referring to the recent appointment of Stuart Lancaster permanently to the role of England manager. But it is actually referring to the start of the Woodward era, when new players were brought in to freshen things up, with Neil Back and Will Greenwood being two good examples of forward thinking selections - both of them later forming key components of the world cup and grand slam winning sides many years down the line. Woodward also brought a new philosophy to the management of the team, pulling English rugby into the professional era with his attention to detail and drive.
Lancaster appears to have brought many of the same attributes to the role, with a number of fresh additions to the squad adding massively to the side's performance. Only time will tell if Owen Farrell and Ben Morgan will have the same monumental impact upon rugby as their predecessors under the Woodward regime, but at this stage their futures look bright. Lancaster has also brought with him a new approach to management based around building a tightly-knit team environment and also showing the same attention to detail and work ethic that Woodward espoused. So this blogger applauds the appointment of Stuart Lancaster into his new role and can't wait for the summer tour to South Africa...the hard work has only just begun!
You could be forgiven for thinking that this was referring to the recent appointment of Stuart Lancaster permanently to the role of England manager. But it is actually referring to the start of the Woodward era, when new players were brought in to freshen things up, with Neil Back and Will Greenwood being two good examples of forward thinking selections - both of them later forming key components of the world cup and grand slam winning sides many years down the line. Woodward also brought a new philosophy to the management of the team, pulling English rugby into the professional era with his attention to detail and drive.
Lancaster appears to have brought many of the same attributes to the role, with a number of fresh additions to the squad adding massively to the side's performance. Only time will tell if Owen Farrell and Ben Morgan will have the same monumental impact upon rugby as their predecessors under the Woodward regime, but at this stage their futures look bright. Lancaster has also brought with him a new approach to management based around building a tightly-knit team environment and also showing the same attention to detail and work ethic that Woodward espoused. So this blogger applauds the appointment of Stuart Lancaster into his new role and can't wait for the summer tour to South Africa...the hard work has only just begun!
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