WORLD Cup-winning English coach Clive Woodward has launched an extraordinary attack on England’s rugby union hierarchy following Sam Burgess’s departure.
And London’s Sunday Times reported that Bath’s captain Stuart Hooper told Burgess the players would prefer he did not come to training to say his goodbyes.
Hooper fielded a phone call from Burgess, who was trying to arrange a suitable time for him to appear at Bath training, only to be told it would not be well received by teammates.
Woodward was scathing, describing the Burgess experiment as “arrogant”, “embarrassing” and a “laughing stock” after the 26-year-old quit on Friday to sign a three-year deal with South Sydney worth about $4.5 million
England’s disastrous World Cup campaign was somehow blamed on Burgess, who was shuffled around in several positions at club and international level.
But Woodward did not blame Burgess, declaring England rugby’s role in the Burgess debacle was a “total mess”.
“I said last week that Sam Burgess is not to blame for this mess and I stand by it,” Woodward said.
“But with his return to rugby league we’ve reached one of the all-time lows and most embarrassing points in English rugby history.
“The RFU has spent the last four years congratulating itself on the direction in which we’re heading, but the truth is we have marched confidently into a total mess.”
Woodward, who coached England to their 2003 World Cup win in Sydney and played for the Manly Marlins between 1985 and 1990, said: “We are the laughing stock of not only world rugby but also sport and business.
“The rest of the world says those involved in English rugby are arrogant. I hate this reputation, but that is exactly what the RFU have been.”
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