Ritchie said Lancaster’s failure at the 2015 World Cup was his lowest point as RFU chief executive but defended the former England head coach Graham Hughes for The TimesIan Ritchie, who announced his resignation as RFU chief executive yesterday, said this morning that he had “no regrets” about the appointment of Stuart Lancaster as the England head coach who, ultimately, oversaw England’s exit from the home World Cup in the pool stages of the tournament. But Ritchie added that England’s failure in the 2015 World Cup was the lowest point in his five years in the role. “You never forget sitting here and losing to Wales and then Australia,” he said. I do think that Stuart and the coaching team did a lot of good things. These were really good peopleWith hindsight, it is possible to look back on Lancaster’s appointment and point the finger at Ritchie for not appointing the other option, which was a dual partnership of Nick Mallett, the South African, and Wayne Smith, the New Zealander, both of…

Source: The Times May 18, 2017 10:52 UTC