Rugby Union: Rfu Set to Hand Off Woodward

Twickenham will deliver its response today to the withering attacks made this week on two of the Rugby Football Union's leading officials, the chief executive, Francis Baron, and the director of elite rugby, Rob Andrew, by the former England head coach, Sir Clive Woodward.

Surveying the sorry state of the England side three years after winning the World Cup in Australia, Woodward blamed Baron for the stark decline and said he remained unconvinced by the vision of Andrew, the man who pipped him for the elite job last summer. He added that the appointment had staggered him, given the critical comments Andrew had made about the national set-up when he was Newcastle's director of rugby, coupled with his lack of international coaching experience.

Andrew, Baron and the RFU's management board chairman, Martyn Thomas, met yesterday afternoon to formulate a plan ahead of a media conference at Twickenham today. Questions about Woodward's remarks are sure to precede inquiries about how Andrew intends to fill the void left by the former England head coach, Andy Robinson, who cleared his desk earlier this month after losing the support of his employers. "We can do one of two things," said Thomas. "We can ignore what Clive said or we can mount a vigorous rebuttal of his claims. He was selective in his recall of events but what is most important is that we look to the future and make sure we get things right."

Gloucester's prop Patrice Collazo was last night suspended for one week at a Rugby Football Union disciplinary hearing in Bristol. The Frenchman was cited for striking Bath's Dan Smith during an EDF Energy Cup match 10 days ago.