Corry: Clive's not to blame

Former England captain defends ex-coach

By Carlie Horsley   Last updated: 3rd September 2008

Corry: Clive's not to blame

Corry: Does not blame Woodward

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Martin Corry has defended former England coach Sir Clive Woodward after Twickenham's elite rugby director Rob Andrew accused him of not leaving a legacy following the 2003 World Cup win.

Andrew was quoted as saying: "Without naming names, I want to make the point that the 2003 World Cup coaching team effectively left no legacy for the English game.

"There was no structure, no real long-term planning, no development strategy. When the edifice fell over after the World Cup, there was nothing behind it."

There is certainly no denying the setbacks England suffered in the four years following the World Cup.

The team fell from first to eighth in the world rankings and saw four head coaches come and go in as many years.

But former England captain and Leicester star Corry believes that Woodward was not to blame for the demise.

He told The Guardian: "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 can look at a multitude of reasons for what happened after 2003 and why we did not maintain the 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."