Winning the 2003 World Cup was the worst thing to happen to English rugby because it concealed the dispute between club and country over the availability of players.
That's the view of Clive Woodward, who said he coached England to the World Cup title in spite of, rather than because of, the Rugby Football Union.
England is without a coach after Andy Robinson quit on Nov. 29. He'd lost 13 of 22 matches since replacing Woodward in 2004, during which England slipped from first to seventh in the world rankings.
``What has happened over the last few weeks was so predictable,'' Woodward told the Sunday Telegraph newspaper. ``This hasn't happened since the World Cup. This goes back to 1999 and 2000. The breakdown has occurred because of the way we're trying to run the game.''
Woodward said that RFU chief executive Francis Baron and RFU director of elite rugby Rob Andrew are ``fundamentally responsible for the complete mess we're in.''
Woodward, who unsuccessfully applied for Andrew's job, said England ``got away'' with winning the World Cup because of a strong management team and an ``awesome'' group of players.
``But I believe the worst thing that happened to England was winning the World Cup because we learned all the wrong lessons,'' he said.
The England coach should have total control of his players _ rather than answering to Andrew _ including dictating when they could play for their clubs, Woodward said.
``Would this be unfair as some players would miss more club games that others?'' asked Woodward in the Sunday Times. ``Who cares if England are successful.''
Now a consultant with the British Olympic Association after a brief foray into soccer coaching, Woodward said former South African coach Nick Mallett and former England captain Martin Johnson, as a selector, were the men to change English rugby.
