England Review Ends Lancaster Tenure

Stuart Lancaster has left his post as England coach following the team's early exit from the World Cup.

England became the first host nation to be eliminated in the group stages when they lost matches to Wales and Australia in Pool A.

"I ultimately accept and take responsibility for the team's performance," said Lancaster.

Lancaster, 46, was made permanent coach in 2012 and won 28 of his 46 games, but failed to win the Six Nations.

"I took on the role in difficult circumstances and it has been a huge challenge to transition the team with many hurdles along the way," he added.

"However, I am immensely proud of the development of this team and I know that there is an incredibly strong foundation for them to progress to great things in the future.

"We have played some excellent rugby and it was always going to be tough to get the right level of experience into them in time for 2015. It is a young group of players with the huge majority available for the World Cup in Japan in 2019, where I believe their recent experience will make them genuine contenders."

Lancaster has won 28 (61%) and drawn one of his 46 Tests, losing 17

A review into England performance at the World Cup took place after the tournament, with Rugby Football Union chief executive Ian Ritchie stating that Lancaster agreed he should step down from his role.

''The Rugby World Cup was hugely disappointing for everyone associated with the England team and the subsequent review into the team's performance was always intended to be extremely comprehensive, which it has been," said Ritchie.

"Following the review, Stuart and I met, where we agreed that he should step down as head coach. This was subsequently ratified by the RFU board."

He added: "Despite the results during this World Cup he has much to be proud of, and has embedded a new group of players that will be representing England for a long time to come. Looking forward, we will leave no stone unturned to ensure England achieves sustained success in the future."

There is no word yet from the RFU on the future of Lancaster's coaching team of Andy Farrell, Graham Rowntree and Mike Catt. The full World Cup review will be presented to an RFU board meeting on 17 November.

The search will then begin for a replacement for Lancaster in time for next year's Six Nations.

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Set Piece England Success - Eddie Jones

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Eddie Jones picked out his side's set-piece play as the deciding factor in their 15-9 Six Nations victory over Scotland.

In Jones' first game in charge since replacing Stuart Lancaster, England got their Six Nations challenge up and running with a hard-fought win at Murrayfield that also helped ease the memory of their miserable World Cup campaign.

Tries from George Kruis and Jack Nowell, as well as five points from the boot of Owen Farrell, saw England to victory over Scotland, whose response came through three Greig Laidlaw penalties.

Jones was pleased to start his reign with a victory on Saturday and felt the performance of his side's forwards was key to the triumph.

He said of England's set-piece play: "It won us the game in the end. Our line-out was very good in the second half and our scrum really came to life."

He added: "It was always going to be a difficult game, we knew that. We had two weeks together, we were virtually a new team doing new things and I'm really pleased with our application in the second half. Our defence was outstanding and there were some really good individual performances."

Jones singled out the displays of new captain Dylan Hartley, Dan Cole and James Haskell for praise, as well as that of man-of-the-match Billy Vunipola.

He said of the No 8: "Yeah he's pretty handy, Billy. He's not bad is he? He played really well and his work-rate was fantastic, good carries, good defence."

Regarding his side's overall performance, Jones said: "In all honesty, I always thought we were going to win the game. The only way we weren't going to win the game was if we did something silly.

"We wanted to move the ball more, we were practising that, we weren't able to do that and had to play a different way, and that's pragmatic football."

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Schmidt Ineligible for Lions Role

Joe Schmidt will not be in charge of the British and Irish Lions for their trip to his native New Zealand next year.

Speaking at the official launch of the RBS Six Nations in London, the Kiwi revealed that his contract with the IRFU, which expires in 2017, does not allow him to take up the role.

"The Lions doesn’t enter my mind. We are a week to week team and that’s a long time away. It’s not something I think about," he said.

"We’re about being the best we can be. That’s our full focus for players and coaches. The Lions is actually a moot point. It’s not something I can do unless the terms of my contract change.

"There are some outside influences on that which would dictate things. I don’t plan on beyond my current contract. Sometimes as a coach you don’t get beyond your current contract."

Schmidt was viewed as the main rival to Warren Gatland for the position.

Gatland, the Wales coach who oversaw the Lions' 2-1 Test series victory against Australia in 2013, is almost certain to head up the shortlist for the coach's job.

The Lions board are to draw up a shortlist at the end of the home unions' summer tours this year, with an appointment expected by the end of August or early September.

The Lions board hope that the head coach will take up his appointment with immediate effect, although they are open to some flexibility that could involve the coach retaining some involvement with their national side during the autumn Test series, as Gatland did in 2012.

Meanwhile, Schmidt revealed that Jonathan Sexton will be fit and available for Ireland's Six Nations opener against Wales on February 7 despite suffering a head injury in the 51-10 defeat to Wasps last weekend.

"Johnny trained really well yesterday. He has passed all the protocols. It was this time last year where he had the problem and took a break," he added.

"Since then he’s had no head injuries so as far as we and he are concerned he’s ready to go. I’m always concerned. We treat head injuries with the respect they deserve.

"They identified Johnny needed a rest and that’s to our advantage really. All we can do is go on the best medical decision we have. When they give him the all clear we have trust in him.

"They’re the experts and if people question that it’s a disappointment. No one is going to have the same opinion but you get the best qualified people to make the assessment. He trained really well yesterday. There was no contact apart from with the wind which pretty much blew everyone over."

On the challenge that Wales will present on February 7, Schmidt said: "I’m only a spectator in the Wales environment but I thought they did well in the World Cup. Who would have thought that against England Wales would pick themselves up off the floor to win.

"They’re the squad with the biggest continuity and experience. They have over 1100 caps and they’ve very tough. They were the biggest team at the World Cup so they have that physical dominance they can impact on teams.

"I don’t think people could not have been impressed by Dan Biggar at the World Cup. Gareth Davies was brilliant too and that doesn’t count the other experienced players. I don’t count experience. I’m not giving an opinion on who is favourite or not. I’m just talking about Wales and facts about them. They’re an incredibly tough team.

"I was talking to Sam Warburton this morning and this is his fifth time here. We don’t talk about what our chances are or what Wales’ chances are."

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Andy Farrell Joins Ireland Defence

Andy Farrell has been named as Ireland’s new defence coach less than a month after he was sacked as England’s assistant coach.

A statement from the Irish Rugby Football Union confirmed that the 40-year-old will take up his post after the Six Nations. The IRFU said Farrell’s contract would commence ahead of the June tour to South Africa and run until the completion of World Cup 2019 in Japan.

“The Irish RugbyFootball Union today announced the appointment of Andy Farrell as Ireland defence coach. Andy will take up the role with the national team following the 2016 RBS 6 Nations Championships,” read the statement.

“It’s great to have Andy coming into our coaching team,” said head coach Joe Schmidt. The quality of his delivery and breadth of his experience as well as the positive impact he had when coaching a number of our senior players during the 2013 Lions tour will add real value for us.”

Farrell added: “To have this opportunity to work with a very talented management and playing group really excites me. With a wealth of top class experienced senior players and a fantastic crop of youngsters pushing hard the future is very positive for Irish rugby and I can’t wait to get started.”

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Welcome to England Mr Jones

Eddie Jones has been appointed as England's new rugby union head coach on a four-year contract.

The Australian will start work as Stuart Lancaster's successor in December ahead of the Six Nations and becomes the first non-Englishman to take the job.

Jones led Australia to the 2003 World Cup final and was part of the South Africa staff for their 2007 success, and he made headlines at the recent tournament in England by masterminding Japan's shock win over the Springboks.

The 55-year-old's appointment means he leaves a role with Western Province's Super Rugby side the Stormers without taking charge of a single game.

"Firstly my thanks must go to [chief executive] Rob Wagner and everyone at Western Province Rugby for understanding my decision and allowing me to return to the international stage so quickly," Jones said. 

Sean Fitzpatrick says Eddie Jones should surround himself with English coaches

"The opportunity to take the reins in, possibly, the world's most high profile international rugby job doesn't come along every day however, and I feel fortunate to be given the opportunity.

"I'm now looking forward to working with the RFU and the players to move beyond the disappointment England suffered at the World Cup and hope to build a new team that will reflect the level of talent that exists within the English game. I believe the future is bright for England."

Rugby Football Union chief executive Ian Ritchie said: "We promised to recruit a coach with proven international experience and we have done that. 

"Eddie is a world-class coach, with extensive experience at the highest level with Australia, South Africa and Japan.

Will Greenwood says Eddie Jones has landed a 'plum job' with England

"We believe that the appointment, which was unanimously approved by the RFU board, is the right one to bring England success in the short, medium and long term.

"We are confident Eddie can build on the strong foundations already laid, with this talented group of players largely remaining together through to the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan and beyond. We are grateful to the Stormers for their co-operation in releasing Eddie early from his contract."

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England Fiji Ready - Rowntree

England coach Graham Rowntree has insisted the pressure will be on Fiji when the teams meet in the opening game of the 2015 World Cup on Friday night.

Rowntree believes the combination of home advantage and England's big-game experience should help relax them and says they should embrace the "time of their lives".

Fiji are the dark horses in Pool A - a section that also includes Wales and Australia - meaning England cannot afford a slip-up in their opening game.

"There's a lot of talk about this word 'upset', but we've prepared well for this game," Rowntree said.

"For our guys, this is the time of their lives. They are on their own turf, in front of their families and friends, with potentially 15m people watching on TV, and 50m country-wide supporting them.

"The players are aware of that support, so which team is the pressure on? That's my question.

"We've been ready for a couple of weeks. We've trained exceptionally well. It's been a long three months and it's been a tough camp.

"We've had a good work-out against some great nations in France and Ireland in our warm-up games. The lads are fitter than they've ever been. I'm excited for them."

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