Will Rob Andrew be able to ride out the RFU tornado?
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As a player, he achieved more than most. But after a disastrous World Cup and with England in turmoil, the top man at Twickenham is now finding the going tough, according to The Observer's Eddie Butler.
"Rugby came easily to Rob Andrew: 71 caps, three grand slams, a World Cup final and two Lions tours speak of a glittering career. When his playing days were over, he stayed in the game, moving seamlessly into coaching, into management and then administration, progressing from job to job according to the rhythm of age, ambition and experience. He climbed rugby's pole without a grease stain. He was squeaky, as in clean; the Teflon Don, the boss to whom nothing stuck. Until now. Suddenly, he is the man on the run through the ruins of Twickenham.
"There is fight in Andrew, a steeliness not always associated with the outside half position. According to folklore, the number 10 is the dainty creator, beloved of the Welsh, who still adore the idea of the tiny string-puller, making giants move to his tune.
"Not Andrew. He played with prosaic ruthlessness, keeping mighty England's forwards content, rolling them on with a precise kicking game. He won games with drop goals – a late one, to add to six penalties, against Wales in 1986; an equally late one to beat Australia in the 1995 World Cup quarter final. If England had wanted poetry, they would have picked Stuart Barnes. They didn't. The mercurial Bath player won 10 caps; Andrew 61 more. England wanted control and coolness and authority. Fancy was for others."
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