RFU unveil Andrew as elite director

Rob Andrew has won the race to become the Rugby Football Union's new elite director of rugby.

The former England fly-half has beaten off some high-profile candidates, including World Cup-winning supremo Sir Clive Woodward, for the post.

Andrew, capped 71 times by England, will start his new job on September 1 after spending 11 years at Newcastle as rugby director, a reign which included one Premiership title and two English knock-out cup triumphs.

The 43-year-old's appointment ends an exhaustive search by Twickenham top brass to fill one of the most important jobs in English rugby history.

Woodward and former Australia coach Eddie Jones were also touted for the job, but Andrew's credentials found favour with the four-man interview panel.

Andrew's role will be to head up a department that includes all England representative teams from the senior side through to the under-18s, plus national and regional academies, elite referees, sports science and medicine.

"Rob is the best person for the job," said RFU chief executive Francis Baron, who was joined on the interview panel by RFU management board chairman Martyn Thomas, Club England chairman John Spencer and England's International Rugby Board representative Bill Beaumont.

"The fact that he came through a very competitive field, with some superb candidates competing for the elite rugby director role, says much about the way he impressed the interview panel with his vision and ideas.

"Following the decisions resulting from the Six Nations review in April 2006, we set ourselves the target of appointing a new England coaching team prior to the June tour to Australia, and a new elite rugby director by the start of the 2006/07 season.

"Both objectives have been met."