Woodward switches sport, joins select set of coaches

Woodward, who wanted to play for top-flight club Everton as a boy, was reportedly keen to get fast-tracked into a role with the England football team before making a bid to succeed Swede Sven-Goran Eriksson as manager after the 2006 World Cup finals.

Appointed as England’s first full-time rugby coach in September 1997, Woodward revolutionised the country’s approach to the international game with his professionalism, meticulous methods and motivational skills. He developed an England team that stayed unbeaten for three years against Australia, New Zealand and South Africa — the heavyweights of southern hemisphere rugby — and ended a run of Six Nations disappointment with a rare Grand Slam in 2003.

Woodward signed a new contract last year to lead England at the 2007 Rugby World Cupand has also been appointed coach for next year’s British and Irish Lions rugby tour to New Zealand. (Reuters)

WOODWARD’S PREDECESSORS

Anatoly Tarasov

In the mid-1970s, Soviet national ice hockey team coach Tarasov switched to soccer and took over as coach of CSKA Moscow. The switch turned out to be a major flop

Roelant Oltmans

Dutch field hockey international Oltmans became general manager of Dutch soccer club NAC Breda in 1999. The move proved to be successful. Breda were promoted from the second division to the first in 2000 and after finishing ninth in 2001 they climbed to sixth the following year. Oltmans returned to hockey in 2003 and was appointed head coach of the Pakistan national team.

Jan Erik Aalbu

Sports chief of Norway’s ski jumping team Aalbu quit this year even though Norway had enjoyed a successful season, to join Norwegian first division soccer club Stabaek as director of sports.