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England's Elite Director of Rugby Announced
By Kath August 18 2006
England's Elite Director of Rugby was announced by the RFU today. The old guard has gone and we are in with the NEW, to lead England Rugby on into the next Rugby World Cup and beyond. Unofficial England Rugby wish him the best of luck in his new role.

England's New Elite Director of Rugby is Rob Andrew

England's RFU Chief Executive Francis Baron played a decisive role in the selection process as the four man panel had been split between either Sir Clive Woodward or Rob Andrew. However, the RFU panel elected Rob Andrew as their choice to lead England Rugby forward into the next Rugby World Cup and beyond.

Christopher Robert Andrew to give him his full title, is no stranger to the echelons of the Rugby Football Union. He was appointed in 1999 by the RFU to lead a task force for the restructuring of the game of rugby union within England. He delivered a blueprint plan but the document as with many other reports at that time made little impact as arguments between the owners of the clubs and the RFU raged and still do to this day sadly.

Rob attended Barnard Castle School and was captain of the 1st XV in 1981. A graduate of Cambridge University played both cricket and rugby and was one of England's best No 10s, a British Lion who helped the Lions win against Australia in 1989.

Rob is not a stranger to controversy and is well know throughout rugby for his raw spontaneous comments and views, many of which have angered fans up and down the country.

Just one of his comments here from an article published by Guardian Unlimited at www.buzzle.com on the 13/5/2006 and well worth reading for his views.

'I'm English and I want to see English players do well. But a lot of club chairmen aren't that bothered about England, quite the opposite. So the RFU have a situation they still need to manage. This is not about the next World Cup or the one in five years' time. This is about the next 20, 30 years. What does English rugby look like in 20 years?'

And so I for one look forward to Rob building those bridges between the RFU and the owners, he has a huge remit to cover but I know the one the fans would dearly like him to start with and that is the restructuring of the playing season.

Just a reminder of the job remit..........

Job Description:



Based in Twickenham, the home of the Rugby Union World Champions, this is a fantastic opportunity to play a leading role in the future success of the England teams, the professional game in England and the development of elite rugby athletes.

Reporting to the Chief Executive, this is a new post in which your role will be to develop, secure approval for and implement our long term strategy to ensure the achievement of our mission statement:

“To be world leaders through excellence in every aspect of the elite game.”

Through inspirational leadership you will utilise our newly aligned management structures to enable a more effective co-ordination of resources to enable the achievement of the RFU Strategic Plan goals through to 2013.

As a member of the senior management team, responsible for all aspects of Elite rugby, the Elite Rugby Director will have responsibility for the England Head Coach, the National Academy (which incorporates the 14 Regional Academies, Elite Coach Development and Player development), Sports Science/Medicine (incorporating National Fitness and all medical and physio services), Elite Referees and management, administration and budget control. The Elite Rugby Director will work closely with the England Head Coach, Andy Robinson, to turn round the fortunes of the England senior team and will be a member of the team selection group.

In addition, the principle responsibilities of the post will include building on the excellent academy framework and specialist elite support functions already in place, to ensure that we are able to continually develop outstanding world class England qualified players to retain a prominent place in world rugby, including success in international age group tournaments and Sevens rugby. The Director will be required to work closely with the Premiership Clubs, player representatives, and international bodies and other Unions to achieve a balanced playing and development programme for elite players that will enable optimum performance and fitness for club and country alike.

To succeed in this role the job holder must have an outstanding global reputation in world rugby as a highly respected and knowledgeable coach, leader and administrator, with a track record of achieving world class performance with elite athletes. His/her vision and strategic planning skills need to be of the highest order, and he/she must demonstrate outstanding leadership and people management capabilities. He/she will need to command the respect of England coaches, Club Directors of Rugby, and international players, and must be extremely knowledgeable about the structure and operation of Rugby Union in England, and the skills and attributes of English qualified players.

He/she must also be able to work effectively in a corporate environment and will therefore be able to draw on a sound body of personal experience in a senior management role within in a significant corporate organisation.


This role presents a rare opportunity to shape the future of English rugby and our excellent remuneration package is designed to attract the very best candidates.


Unofficial England wish Rob Andrew all the luck in the world and we will support him in his future endeavors to modernise and move forward the game we love.


 

 

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