England: Mallett concedes to Lancaster
Nick Mallett all but gave up on becoming England’s next permanent coach after they finished the Six Nations with a dominant 30-9 win over Ireland at Twickenham on Saturday.
Victory gave Stuart Lancaster, appointed interim coach for the Six Nations following Martin Johnson’s post-World Cup resignation, his fourth win from five matches in charge, with the lone defeat against Grand Slam champions Wales.
England’s Rugby Football Union have still to announce a full-time successor to Johnson.
But former South Africa and Italy boss Mallett, believed to be the lone realistic candidate rivaling Lancaster for the permanent England post, sounded resigned to not getting the job.
“You can’t see the RFU wanting to change a coach when you look at the team and how happy they are,” he said on South African pay television in remarks relayed via social networking site Twitter.
Lancaster, speaking at a post-match news conference, said: “I’ve just got to trust in the process. I’ve been on the other side of the fence interviewing people and I’ve just got to trust in the process.
“Now I will just enjoy the moment.”
England have long said they would like to have a new full-time coach in charge by the time they tour South Africa in June.
England finished second in the Six Nations and boosted the chances of Lancaster becoming their permanent boss.
A youthful English forward pack overpowered Ireland up front and that dominance was reflected when England scored a penalty try from a scrum heading into the final quarter.
“The players were outstanding,” said Lancaster, who refused to be drawn on his future in the job.
“That’s for others to decide. But if you told me that one day I would be applauding 80,000 people at Twickenham with a bunch of lads I respect, I would have taken that.”
England’s Owen Farrell kicked 20 points, with the 20-year-old flyhalf again showing an impressive temperament.
All of Ireland’s points came courtesy of three penalties from flyhalf Jonathan Sexton.
Delighted England No.8 Ben Morgan, the man-of-the-match who, like Farrell, was given his Test chance by Lancaster, told the BBC: “Coming out here in the wet and performing like that against a tough Irish side was incredible.
“We’ve only been together for eight weeks now but the team Stuart Lancaster has brought in has just made us grow.
“We’ve shown how much potential we’ve got and credit to Stuart for coming in and creating the environment to showcase what we can do.”
AFP
