Clive Woodward

Clive Woodward

Player information
Full name	Clive Ronald Woodward
birthday	January 6, 1956
place of birth	Ely , England
society
society	Career ended
position	Inner three quarters
Clubs as active
Years	society	Games (points)
1974	Harlequins
1979-1985	Leicester Tigers
1985-1990	Manly
National team
Years	National team	Games (points)
1980-1984	England	21 (16)
1980-1983	British and Irish Lions	2 (0)
Coaching stations
Years	Association / Province / Franchise
1990-1994	Henley Hawks
1994-1997	London Irish
1994-1997	England (U21)
1997	Bath
1997-2004	England
2005	British and Irish Lions
As of April 15, 2008

Sir Clive Ronald Woodward OBE (born January 6, 1956 in Ely ) is a former English rugby union player and was the coach of the England national team for seven years , with which he won the title at the 2003 World Cup . He also trained the British and Irish Lions .

Player career

Woodward began his active career in 1974 with the Harlequins , but initially only played there for one season, as he had enrolled for a sports degree at Loughborough University . He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts . He continued his sporting career with the Leicester Tigers in 1979 and was part of the English national team for the first time a year later in the game against Ireland . This was followed by 21 international appearances, the last on March 17, 1984 when England met Wales . Because of his attractive style of play, he was considered for two tours, 1980 and 1983, of the British and Irish Lions . In 1985 Woodward went to Australia for work , but continued to play rugby. Until 1990 he was active for the Manly RUFC club and was even able to take part in a training session for the Wallabies , the national team of Australia.

Coaching career

After his time in Australia, he returned to the UK to start his own company. At the same time he took over the coaching position with the Henley Hawks . There followed three years with the London Irish before he went to Bath for a short time to work as an assistant coach. When Jack Rowell resigned from the office of national coach in 1997, Woodward was hired for this post.

Rugby had recently become a professional sport and it was Woodward's job to adapt the English national team to the changes. At the 1999 World Cup , England managed to advance to the quarterfinals, where defending champions South Africa had to admit defeat. The greatest success in the coaching career of Woodwards and English rugby as a whole, however, followed at the next World Cup in Australia. Before the tournament, the English had some surprise successes and were considered a secret favorite for the title. Jonny Wilkinson decided the final against the hosts with a jump kick and thus ensured the first world title for England.

At the beginning of 2004 he received the Knight Bachelor award and has since been named "Sir". At the Six Nations in the same year, the English national team was only third, the following test matches against New Zealand and Australia were also disappointing. Against the All Blacks England failed to make a single attempt in two games , against the Wallabies there was a sensitive 51:15 defeat. Due to the poor development of the team, Woodward gave up his position as national coach in September.

Before he retired, he was appointed to New Zealand to train the British and Irish Lions Tour 2005. All three games against the All Blacks were lost, the public criticized Woodward in particular for the team's poor performance. The criticism was directed primarily at the composition of the squad, which consisted mainly of English players from the 2003 world championship team. He was also accused of mishandling the players and media representatives.

Achievements / titles

as a player

• 1980 John Player Cup winner with the Leicester Tigers
• 1981 John Player Cup winner with the Leicester Tigers
• 1983 John Player Cup finalist with the Leicester Tigers

as a trainer

• 2003 world champion with the English national team

Farewell to rugby

After the Lions tour ended, he tried his luck at football . His first and last stop was at Southampton FC , where he only stayed for a year. During this time the problems with journalists and important representatives of the association increased, so that a continuation of his engagement became impossible. In September 2006 it was announced that Woodward would be part of the National Olympic Committee of Great Britain as "Director of Elite Performance". In March 2008 he was honored to take part in the Olympic torch relay in London .

literature

• Clive Woodward: Winning! Hodder & Stoughton Paperbacks, ISBN 0-340-83630-X

Web links

• National team statistics
• Profile at Sporting Heroes