Patience key in England headhunt
RFU chief executive Ian Ritchie is adamant he won't be rushed into appointing a new England head coach and will delay the process if necessary in order to get his man.
Ritchie confirmed this week that interim coach Stuart Lancaster would be interviewed for the permanent post before the end of the Six Nations Championship on March 17.
Nick Mallett and Eddie O'Sullivan are thought to be the other names in the frame to succeed Martin Johnson, who left after last year's disappointing World Cup campaign.
But Ritchie's priority is finding the right man, ideally with a view to leading the team to South Africa in June.
"There's no magic date that we have to appoint anybody by," Ritchie told BBC Radio Five Live's Sportsweek programme on Sunday.
"What I've said is that, in an ideal world, and I stress even that, we would like to have someone in place to coach on the tour to South Africa in the summer.
"The date is not the be all and end all. By far the most important thing is to get the right candidate, the right person. But I certainly want to move forward on it as quickly as we can."
Lancaster has made an encouraging start to life in the job, beating Scotland and Italy and losing narrowly to Wales, but Ritchie stressed he would not be judged purely by results.
"Comments being made about if he wins three he gets the job, if he loses three he doesn't I think are rather simplistic," Ritchie said.
"What you have to do is try to make the best assessment you can overall. We have a timetable, Stuart was appointed to be the interim head coach for the Six Nations Championships, he's very well aware of that, and I think he's doing a good job in putting his best foot forward."
Meanwhile, New Zealand legend John Kirwan has backed Mallett for the England job after being told by the Rugby Football Union's head-hunters that he was not experienced enough to be considered.
Kirwan coached at three Rugby World Cups with Italy and Japan, but he has been told he will not be put forward to the interview stage because he had not coached a leading rugby nation.
Lancaster has reached the interview stage and Kirwan was told there were two other candidates who did meet that criteria, believed to be former South Africa coach Mallett and ex-Ireland and USA boss O'Sullivan.
"They contacted me saying I wouldn't go on to the next stage because they had a couple of other candidates that had more international experience than me," Kirwan said.
"They were looking for someone with a higher international profile. I understand that. They started out with something in mind and they are heading down that track.
"I think Nick Mallett would be perfect for it. Nick is the ideal mix. He is highly intelligent, he understands what a team needs to win and he gets the best out of players.
"It will be a high-pressure situation (coaching England) into a home World Cup (in 2015). I think Nick would be a great candidate for the job."
Kirwan, who put himself forward for the interim job, has been impressed by Lancaster and believes he is Mallet's main rival.
"Stuart so far has been saying and doing all the right things. So far he has been good. I think it is between those two," Kirwan said.
"The RFU will need to be cold about it and assess who will be the right guy to lead the side through to your own World Cup and not make the mistakes of a debutant."
AFP