Rugby Union: Clubs Welcome Andrew's Appointment

Twickenham's desire for an end to the club-country infighting was a decisive factor in yesterday's appointment of Rob Andrew as the Rugby Football Union's first elite director of rugby.

Andrew saw off the challenges of two former Lions coaches, Sir Clive Woodward and Ian McGeechan, from an initial list of 17 candidates, to clinch the £300,000-a- year post. He was immediately released from his contract by the Falcons, who announced that their academy director, John Fletcher, would replace Andrew, and will start his new job on September 1.

"It was a difficult decision to leave Newcastle," said Andrew, "but I could not turn down the challenge of the elite director's role. The time I have spent in the Premiership has been invaluable and I want to work closely with the clubs so that we can reach agreements which will mutually benefit both parties and take international and club rugby in England to another level."

Woodward, England's 2003 World Cup winning head coach, was seen as the early favourite for the position but Andrew, a late applicant who spurned an initial approach from headhunters hired by the RFU, impressed the panel charged with making the appointment at his interview.

"We had three outstanding candidates and it was a very close decision," said the RFU chief executive Francis Baron. "Before we conducted the interviews we defined a list of 25 parameters which we would measure each candidate by. We did not want a one-dimensional character but someone who had a range of skills.

"We also wanted someone able to understand the issues on the club side and to work with owners and directors of rugby, using negotiating skills, diplomacy and tact. The RFU wants nothing more than to reach a lasting agreement with the clubs but Rob will not be joining our negotiating team straight away: we want to give him three months to find out everything about his new job rather than chuck him into the lions' den."

Andrew's appointment was welcomed by Premier Rugby, which said he was uniquely placed to appreciate the role played by the clubs in achieving international success, and the clubs would have seen the appointment of Woodward, who fired a broadside at them when he resigned as England's head coach two years ago, as an intention by the RFU to continue hostilities. Woodward took his defeat graciously, saying: "I wish Rob and Andy Robinson [the England head coach] the very best for the future. It is an exciting time for English rugby a year before the World Cup with a number of young players coming through the system. Rob and Andy will make a great team."

Baron said the appointment of Andrew, which followed that of three new assistant coaches in June, marked the end of the changes to the England management team before the World Cup.