Best man for the job?
London
December 13, 1999

Such is the pressure that Dick Best is under that he was reluctant even to have "no comment" attributed to him when speaking to SCRUM this afternoon. Indeed Best is an occasional SCRUM columnist which should at least ensure plenty of interest in that section of the site in the next few weeks, writes Iain Morrison.

London Irish played Rome yesterday and several Irish players confirmed that the English papers on the flight back was the first they had heard of the business. With several of the London Irish board members also on the same plane as Britain's most wanted coach the atmosphere must have been a little strained on the return leg.

Although Best remained tight-lipped its reasonable to say that there is some truth in the weekend's speculation that the coach has been approached by the RFU to take over the England coaching position, a position he last held in the early 1990's.

Best is currently under contract to London Irish so any switch to the national squad would entail healthy compensation for the Premiership side. With the Exiles recently losing star centre Brendan Venter to South Africa their prospects would be bleak if they were to subsequently lose their coach.

Best reportedly stated after his previous dismissal as national coach that he would "cut off my arms with a blunt spoon" before taking up the national post again. Presumably he is reaching for his Swiss Army knife even now.

Live Sports

Communication error please reload the page.

ABOUT COOKIES

To help make this website better, to improve and personalize your experience and for advertising purposes, are you happy to accept cookies and other technologies.

More Info Here Cookie Choices