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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
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| Robinson to stay as England coach | Robinson to stay as England coach |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Andy Robinson is to remain as England's head coach for the autumn Tests against South Africa, elite director of rugby Rob Andrew has confirmed. | Andy Robinson is to remain as England's head coach for the autumn Tests against South Africa, elite director of rugby Rob Andrew has confirmed. |
| England were beaten 25-18 by Argentina on Saturday and have slumped to seventh in the latest world rankings. | England were beaten 25-18 by Argentina on Saturday and have slumped to seventh in the latest world rankings. |
| Robinson met Rugby Football Union chairman Martyn Thomas, chief executive Francis Baron, Club England chairman John Spencer and Andrew on Monday. | Robinson met Rugby Football Union chairman Martyn Thomas, chief executive Francis Baron, Club England chairman John Spencer and Andrew on Monday. |
| Andrew said there would be "further reviews" after the South Africa Tests. | Andrew said there would be "further reviews" after the South Africa Tests. |
| Interview: RFU director of elite rugby Rob Andrew | Interview: RFU director of elite rugby Rob Andrew |
| He added: "It was an open and frank two-hour meeting where we all exchanged our views on England's performance against Argentina and recent results. | He added: "It was an open and frank two-hour meeting where we all exchanged our views on England's performance against Argentina and recent results. |
| "The Investec Challenge games are a four-Test series and Andy remains in charge for that. | |
| LATEST WORLD RANKINGS 1 New Zealand 94.06pts2 France 86.39pts3 Australia 85.50pts4 South Africa 85.24pts5 Ireland 83.81pts6 Argentina 79.01pts7 England 78.14pts8 Scotland 77.72pts9 Wales 77.02pts "We will conduct further reviews in the week following the first and second Tests against South Africa to assess England's performances and results. | |
| "Andy is determined to turn England around to winning ways and his and the squad's focus is on beating South Africa this Saturday." | "Andy is determined to turn England around to winning ways and his and the squad's focus is on beating South Africa this Saturday." |
| Robinson is contracted until next year's World Cup, but Andrew was unable to offer any guarantees about his future beyond the end of the month. | Robinson is contracted until next year's World Cup, but Andrew was unable to offer any guarantees about his future beyond the end of the month. |
| "I said when I took the job that nobody's position was absolutely guaranteed, and that is exactly the position now," he said. | |
| "But this is a four-game series and we are not going to make a knee-jerk decision halfway through the series." | "But this is a four-game series and we are not going to make a knee-jerk decision halfway through the series." |
| 606: DEBATE class="" href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/606/A17325533">This decision just shows the lack of forward thinking that has taken hold of England FJ class="" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/606/default.stm">606: Have your say Andrew dismissed any notion that he might be tempted to step into the breach himself if performances do not improve under Robinson. | |
| "It is not something we are contemplating; we haven't even discussed that as part of my job description," he said. | |
| "It is a hypothetical question anyway, but I have no desire to be head coach." | |
| Argentina's victory saw them leapfrog England into sixth in the International Rugby Board world rankings. | |
| Before the autumn Tests started, Andrew said he would accept four defeats if it meant England were making progress towards next year's World Cup, but conceded Saturday's display was a "step back". | |
| "It was poor - it was unacceptable," he added. "Andy is very disappointed and fans showed their disappointment, quite rightly. | "It was poor - it was unacceptable," he added. "Andy is very disappointed and fans showed their disappointment, quite rightly. |
| We need to look at the leadership of this group moving forward to find a World Cup captain Rob Andrew "I think there were signs of progress against New Zealand but that wasn't maintained against Argentina, which is what we were looking for. | |
| "Had it been maintained, I think we would have won the game. But we didn't and we have to look at why that was." | "Had it been maintained, I think we would have won the game. But we didn't and we have to look at why that was." |
| Andrew, Robinson and his fellow coaches held a selection meeting later on Monday, with the team for the first Test against South Africa set to be announced on Tuesday. | |
| Even allowing for the fact that no players are allowed to play more than three of the four autumn Tests, there could be some high-profile casualties, with the likes of captain Martin Corry and fly-half Charlie Hodgson under pressure. | |
| "There were some directional issues at the weekend, and I am not just talking about the captain, but some leading players and decision-makers as well," Andrew added. | |
| "It was an issue we were looking at very closely going into the autumn and we have learnt some very interesting lessons already in the first two Tests. | |
| "We need to look at the leadership of this group moving forward to find a World Cup captain, and that process is still on-going." |