POSTED: May 1st 2011
NewsUpdate
Woodward refutes talk of quitting Olympics role for return to rugby
KEIR RADNEDGE / Sports Features Communications
LONDON: Sir Clive Woodward has refuted increasing speculation that he is considering stepping down from his role as director of elite performance of the British Olympic Association one year ahead of London 2012 in favour of return to rugby union.
Woodward, 55, who guided England to Rugby World Cup success in 2003, has been linked with the Rugby Football Union's open post of performance director.
Inisting that he was intent on seeing his current challenge through to next year's Olympic Games, Woodward said: "It's all just speculation. I'm very happy with my job at the BOA and we're looking forward to a great year leading up to the Olympics. These [reports] are incorrect and are based on rumour and speculation, not fact."
England's national team has fallen way from the commanding position it enjoyed briefly under Woodward amid subsequent disputes between the RFU and the clubs over the balance of player availability and finance.
A major overhaul of the structure of the governing body has been undertaken by its chief executive John Steele. Rob Andrew, former director of elite rugby, was reappointed as the operations director, while Steve Grainger has been named as development director. But the newly-created post of performance director remains open.
An RFU statement said: "We continue to run the same open recruitment process for this role as we have for all the other senior roles at the RFU and candidates were invited to apply.
"We are pleased to say they did so and we have a strong shortlist who will go forward to the next stage but we will not comment on any individual people who may or may not have applied for the role as it remains a confidential process.
"We can say, as we recently confirmed, that we would expect to make an announcement by the end of May at the latest. We recognise that the media will continue to speculate but we are not in a position to disclose more details."
Woodward stepped down as England rugby coach in 2004 and switched codes to become performance director at Southampton Football Club a year later. He left Southampton in August 2006 and, within weeks, had been appointed as director of elite performance with the British Olympic Association. He was deputy chef de mission at the 2008 Games in Beijing.
BOA chairman Lord Moynihan has said: "Clive is doing a great job in the run-up to the Olympic Games and will, I hope, stay with us. Reports about him returning to a role in the RFU are purely speculative."
Keywords · RFU · BOA · Woodward
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