Northampton Saints: Mallinder has had no contact about England job
Pictures by Linda Dawson
SAINTS boss Jim Mallinder says the Rugby Football Union’s headhunters have not been in touch with him about the England job.
The RFU have employed City headhunters Odgers Berndtson to help find the new England coach, with the closing date for applications being February 15.
Mallinder has been one of the favourites for the job since Martin Johnson resigned after England’s doomed World Cup campaign in November.
Stuart Lancaster has taken over as interim coach for the Six Nations and said he will be applying, but Mallinder says he has had no contact with the RFU or Odgers Berndtson yet.
“No, I have had no phone call,” said Mallinder, whose contract with Saints runs out in the summer of 2013.
Saints chief executive Allan Robson said the club had not had any contact from Odgers Berndtson either. It is not sure whether they need to contact Saints anyway, but the Premiership has representatives on the RFU selection panel.
But Robson is fully expecting Mallinder to be a contender, with the RFU confirming it will be a worldwide search.
He said: “Why would the RFU look to appoint a head coach for England and not look at currently one of the most successful in the business?
“It was always likely when we signed Jim four years ago that we would have England knocking on our door at some point, and if they didn’t it would probably mean Jim had not done his job very well.
“We have got eight lads in the senior Elite Player Squad, that is 25 per cent of the England players coming from Saints. That is a first for us, that is an endorsement of what Jim and the other coaches are doing here.”
Headhunters Odgers Berndtson, who describe themselves as ‘the UK’s pre-eminent executive search firm’, will work with the RFU’s five-man selection panel including incoming chief executive Ian Ritchie, professional rugby director Rob Andrew and representatives of Premiership Rugby.
They will recommend an appointment to the RFU board, which will make the final decision. Lancaster has impressed the RFU with the way he has started as interim coach, but it is understood Mallinder is still a candidate along with overseas targets such as former Saints boss Wayne Smith, former Italy and South Africa boss Nick Mallet and Clermont Auvergne’s Kiwi head coach Vern Cotter.
The RFU is reportedly looking to announce a permanent successor by the end of the Six Nations, when it will have seen how good a job Lancaster has done.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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There are 2 comments to this article
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ianrock
Thursday, January 26, 2012 at 08:18 PMI'm not surprised. For some reason during important matches he takes off all his important players after 60 mins! I'm not sure if he thinks he is being clever, but during a war of attrition last weekend, he was on the edge of getting booed. The Munster fans couldn't believe their luck and were just as shocked as Saints fans.
Sportsview
Thursday, January 26, 2012 at 02:58 PMWhy would England want him? Every really important match with him in charge of the Saints ends up with him getting a tanking - get real Mallinder.
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