The England Rugby Football Union has confirmed that Stuart Lancaster has, by mutual consent, stepped down as England head coach.
The decision follows England’s recent Rugby World Cup campaign which saw the team knocked out of the tournament at the pool stages after defeats to Wales and Australia.
Lancaster was appointed full time in April 2012 and guided England to second place in all of the past four Six Nations Championships with one of his notable victories coming against the All Blacks in 2012, one of 28 wins in the 46 Test matches during which he was in charge of England.
Lancaster says he ultimately accepts and takes responsibility for the team's performance and they have not delivered the results they all hoped for, during the tournament.
The new head coach will continue to report into the CEO, who will now lead the process for recruitment, beginning immediately.
The contenders for the England coaching job including the Exeter Chiefs coach Rob Baxter, Chiefs coach Dave Rennie, All Blacks assistant coach Wayne Smith, Wallabies coach Michael Cheika, TV pundit Nick Mallett, Japan coach Eddie Jones and former winning Springboks coach Jake White.
Source : planet rugby
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