1956: Born January 6 in Ely, Cambridgeshire.
1980:England debut against Ireland as a replacement. Helped Bill Beaumont's team win the Grand Slam that season, appearing in all four matches. Picked for the British Lions tour to South Africa, winning two Test starts.
1983:Toured New Zealand with Lions.
1984:Played last game for England, against Wales at Twickenham, concluding a 21-cap career. Moves to Sydney where he becomes player and then coach of Manly.
1997:After stints with London Irish, Bath and England Under-21s, Woodward is handed England coaching reins, becoming the first person to do the job on a professional basis. Enjoys promising start, drawing with Australia and New Zealand during a four-match series with all three Tri-Nations giants.
1998:Gives Jonny Wilkinson his debut in Six Nations against Ireland. Takes severely-depleted England squad on infamous "Tour to Hell". Suffered humiliating 76-0 defeat by the Wallabies followed by further losses to New Zealand (twice) and South Africa.
1999: Names Martin Johnson as England skipper. England booted out of the World Cup by Jannie de Beer as South Africa move into semi-finals.
2000:Registers first victory over Australia during autumn internationals.
2001: Snubbed as coach for the Lions tour to Australia. Wales' Kiwi boss Graham Henry is given the nod, the first foreigner to coach the Lions.
2002:Misses out on Six Nations and Grand Slam title after 20-15 defeat by France in Paris, but New Zealand, Australia and South Africa beaten in November internationals.
2003: England land first Grand Slam of Woodward's tenure following 42-6 defeat of Ireland. Contract extended by the Rugby Football Union until the end of the 2007 World Cup. European success followed by glorious summer tour Down Under with All Blacks and Wallabies beaten on consecutive weekends. England's longest-ever winning run (14 Tests) halted in August by France, but Twickenham's finest still top world rankings.
November 16: After an unconvincing run to the World Cup semi-finals, including a quarter-final success over Wales, Woodward guides his side to 24-7 victory over France.
November 22: All his planning and preparation pays off as England are crowned world champions, beating Australia 20-17 with an extra-time drop-goal from Jonny Wilkinson.
December 14: Named Coach of the Year at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year presentation.
December 31: Knighted in the New Year's Honours List.
2004: March 27:England lose 24-21 to France in Paris to lose their RBS 6 Nations title . June 26:A 51-15 defeat to Australia in Brisbane ensures England return from a tour Down Under with three defeats from three games.
August 31:Insists he will honour his contract, which runs until 2007, with the RFU amid rumours he is set to quit and move into football.
September 1: Announces he will be handing in his resignation as England coach.
