The Leicester and former England captain Martin Corry has defended the 2003 World Cup winning coach Sir Clive Woodward, who was last week accused, if not in name, by Twickenham's elite rugby director Rob Andrew of not leaving a legacy for the English game after that success was followed by four years of muddle.
Corry, a member of the 2003 squad who went on to captain his country, said he did not blame Woodward, who resigned less than a year after the World Cup victory in Australia, for England's rapid descent from first in the world rankings to eighth with four head coaches in charge in as many years.
"If you argue, and I am not saying this happened, that Clive went all out to win the World Cup in 2003, then that is not a bad thing," said Corry, who is retiring at the end of the season. "Everyone would have taken that. We all knew the average age of the squad in Australia, but the most important thing at the time was winning the trophy.
"You can look at a multitude of reasons for what happened after 2003 and why we did not maintain that success: some players retired, others got injured and a number of changes were made on the coaching front. It was always going to be very difficult, but winning the World Cup is a major part of our rugby history."
Andrew said last week: "Without naming names, I want to make the point that the 2003 World Cup coaching team effectively left no legacy to the English game. As a result, the elite end of the sport in this country was in a terrible state. I have no wish to personalise the issue. There was no structure, no real long-term planning, no development strategy. When the edifice fell over after the 2003 World Cup, there was nothing behind it."
Corry disagreed, saying: "I do not blame Clive Woodward for what happened after 2003. Look at what he set out to do first and foremost: win the World Cup. He achieved that. You always have to have succession in the back of your mind, but he identified the players he thought would win England the trophy."
Corry believes the appointment of his former Leicester team-mate Martin Johnson as the team manager of England will help revitalise the national side. "The bottom line is that England have a very good group of players," he said. "I wish I were five years younger because I would love to be a part of his squad. These are very exciting times for England. The Guinness Premiership continues to go from strength to strength and another compelling season beckons."
