Woodward narrows his vision

Autumn internationals: The future and the World Cup can wait – now is all that matters to Twickenham's guardian

When Clive Woodward points his Jaguar XKR, proudly displaying a sticker of the flag of St George on the rear window, towards his office at Twickenham, the first hazard he has to negotiate in the country lanes of Cookham is a posse of television crews. They have not assembled in the Berkshire village to capture the England manager on film but are awaiting an appearance of his near-neighbour, one Ulrika Jonsson. "I can usually tell when she's at home,'' Woodward said. "I've met her at charity events so I know her to say hello to.''

Mmmm. Now we've cleared that up it is comforting to know that English rugby is in the hands of a man who is not tempted to stray from the straight and narrow into one of life's little lay-bys.

Woodward has marginally more hair than Sven Goran Eriksson, a decidedly smaller salary and an infinitely better chance of bringing home some serious silverware. Both had high expectations of winning a World Cup for England and both failed, but for Woodward the prospects have seldom looked rosier. Beginning with New Zealand at Twickenham next Saturday, England have a lucrative autumn schedule (after the All Blacks come the Wallabies and the Springboks) followed by the Six Nations' Championship, when first up are France and Woodward's eyes will begin to narrow on the 2003 World Cup in Australia.

He is in his fifth season in charge, a new contract taking him to the 2004 Six Nations. "I don't worry about such matters,'' Woodward said. "In this job they could sack me tomorrow. Nor am I worried about the World Cup. It may be a cliché but I'm taking it game by game.''

When Woodward was awarded an OBE a few months ago, Francis Baron, chief executive of the Rugby Football Union, commented: "Clive's contribution to rugby union over the last 25 years has been significant. He has created an excellent platform for England and I hope it continues to evolve.''

Under Woodward – as a player nobody knew what he was going to do next, least of all his team-mates – England have combined strength at forward with some dazzling all-purpose play. A threequarter with Loughborough, Harlequins, Leicester, England and the Lions, he fairly flew through his coaching education with Manly, Henley, London Irish and Bath. By the time he parachuted in to Twickers he was sick and tired of hearing about the Super 12, the Tri-Nations and the southern-hemisphere oligarchy. "I don't give a monkey's how we win,'' he was prompted to say, "as long as we win.''

England have proceeded to rack up victories against Australia and South Africa, turning Twickenham into a castle. The only man to lower the drawbridge was Jonah Lomu in the 1999 World Cup, New Zealand's pool victory condemning England to a quarter-final against the Boks in Paris, where Jannie de Beer drop-kicked them from the Seine to the Thames. As for the Six Nations, England have a record for setting records but the Grand Slam has remained elusive, the Celts taking it in turns to administer away-day muggings in between suffering severe beatings at the Englishmen's home.

Woodward's response (unlike Sven he can get very animated indeed) was to point out, not unlike the Swede, that the club-versus-country dispute denied him proper access to his players. Under the élite player programme, a fresh deal struck between the RFU and the owners of the Premiership clubs, Woodward has greater custody – 20 England training days outside Test weeks. The clubs also accept that England's 30-man party for the World Cup will miss the first 12 Premiership matches next season. This time Woodward, getting his tracksuit dirty in the absence of the backs coach, Brian Ashton, who now heads the national academy, has no excuses.

"I'm delighted with what is in place. It gives us a fighting chance. I've still got to keep pushing the whole thing forward. When you stop learning that is when you finish second. I've learned a lot and I can handle most things on the pitch and off, but every season is a movable feast. That's why I like it so much.''

And he particularly likes England's final preparation for the World Cup – away matches to Australia, New Zealand, France and Wales.

First, though, the All Blacks and a reunion with John Mitchell, ex-Sale, Wasps and England. Mitchell's promotion has been even swifter than Woodward's. It seems that one minute he was Woodward's right-hand man in the red- rose hierarchy, the next he was succeeding Wayne Smith as coach of New Zealand. Woodward did not want to lose Mitchell but the RFU dithered.

"He did a great job for us at a difficult time and when the NZRFU rang me I gave Mitch a good reference. We were going through a period of change and there was unhappiness behind the scenes. We helped fast-track him to one of the biggest jobs in the world.''

Mitchell may have returned home, but southern-hemisphere coaches fill half the jobs in the Zurich Premiership. "In placing an emphasis on coaching and training good coaches we are behind New Zealand and Australia,'' Woodward said.

By appointing Kevin Bowring, the former Wales coach, as head of élite coach development, the RFU are addressing the issue. "If players who come to the end of their careers want to go into coaching it is up to Bowring to help them make the grade,'' Woodward said. "There's no correlation between being a successful player and a successful coach. In fact, it's often quite the opposite. I don't care where they come from as long as they're good. The Premiership is getting better year on year. International rugby used to be far more physical than the club game but the gap is closing. I've enjoyed most of what I've seen. Younger players are also advancing a lot quicker. They're coming through at a rate of knots.''

Woodward mentioned Phil Christophers, James Simpson-Daniel, Marcel Garvey, James Forrester, Robbie Morris, Tom Palmer and Dan Scarbrough, the first four of whom feature in the squad of 30 announced on Thursday. "I've never been scared of putting in young players.'' Nevertheless he says he will pick the strongest team over the coming weeks. "Test rugby is not a time to experiment. I don't think either the players or the public would want me to do that. We are fully focused on winning these matches.''

When Woodward names his team tomorrow it will bear little resemblance to the rookie squad that beat Argentina in Buenos Aires in June. "Sometimes it's more dangerous when you don't know who you're playing against. Although their back line is experienced, New Zealand have a young side and their forwards are an unknown quantity. They're a bit like us in Argentina. This is a huge opportunity for New Zealand.''

So the captaincy reverts to Martin Johnson who, according to Woodward, is back to his best after being demoted to the bench against Italy last season. "He didn't like it but he was nowhere near the Martin Johnson who had become the best lock in the world,'' Woodward said. "He's had the summer off and it's done him a power of good. He's our No 1 lock again." You might also say, "Eureka, Johnson", but it's too close to home.