Blow for Lancaster as Farrell snubs England to remain with Saracens

Stuart Lancaster faces the first hurdle of his regime as England coach after the Rugby Football Union failed in their attempts to recruit Andy Farrell from Saracens.

Lancaster had told the RFU he wanted to keep in place the interim management team that helped guide a new-look England side to second place in the RBS Six Nations.

While forwards coach Graham Rowntree is already on the Twickenham payroll, the RFU have been in negotiations with Saracens over Farrell’s release for the last fortnight.

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Saracens chief executive Ed Griffiths said at the outset he wanted a quick resolution to avoid the issue becoming a distraction over the closing weeks of the season.

The Aviva Premiership champions yesterday announced that Farrell had decided to remain with the club, amid reports negotiations had stalled.

“It has been a special privilege for me to be involved in the Saracens coaching staff for the past two-and-a-half seasons,” Farrell said in a statement. “We have made decent progress during this period but, in truth, as a club, we have barely scratched the surface of our potential.

“The job isn’t anywhere near half done, and I have decided I want to help finish the job.”

Farrell’s decision is a serious blow to Lancaster, who must now decide how to replace him in time for England’s three-Test summer tour of South Africa.

Wayne Smith, the attack specialist who helped New Zealand win the 2011 Rugby World Cup, is a strong long-term candidate having already expressed an interest in working with England. But Smith is currently unavailable until after the summer tour, having vowed to see out the Super Rugby season with the Waikato Chiefs.

There have been reports linking Brian Ashton with a role in South Africa while Lancaster may look to London Irish attack coach Mike Catt.

RFU chief executive Ian Ritchie accepted England had lost out on retaining a key member of the coaching team that helped transform the fortunes of the national team.

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Lancaster, Farrell and Rowntree built a new-look team and restored the image of English rugby that had been so battered during the 2011 World Cup.

Lancaster made such an impact during his temporary reign that he was preferred to Nick Mallett for the permanent job.

Ritchie vowed Twickenham would provide Lancaster with the best management team available.

“Whilst Andy was clearly an important part of the coaching team during the course of the RBS Six Nations, we fully respect his wishes to continue as a coach at Saracens,” Ritchie said.

“We will continue to work hard with Stuart Lancaster to build a world class coaching team as we look towards the Rugby World Cup in 2015.”