New Rugby Football Union's Chief Exective John Steele has vowed that no expense would be spared in propelling England back to the top of the world.
Steele, the former Northampton fly-half and coach, was appointed from UK Sport as Francis Baron's replacement charged with putting rugby back at the heart of the RFU's agenda.
Baron was the first Twickenham chief executive and he retired this summer having guided the once cash-strapped union into a position of financial strength.
RFU chairman Martyn Thomas admitted rugby priorities had been sacrificed in the drive for commercial success. With England sixth in the world, that will now change.
But Steele tempered expectations by suggesting England's best chance of World Cup success could be on home soil in 2015 rather than in New Zealand next year.
"To be blunt, everyone connected with the game would like to see England's ranking higher than it is now," said Steele, who took office on Monday.
"We are the richest union in the world and that is something that is of massive credit to my predecessor - but that is a means to an end.
"We are not a FTSE 100 company, we are an organisation that is here to serve and lead rugby. Profit is fantastic but it is a means of investing in the game.
"Your top team is your showcase, it is hugely important. You cannot buy high-performance success but you do need a minimum amount of resources.
"I don't believe a union with the resources we have should see money around the high performance area as being restrictive."
Steele is not planning a review of the elite department, headed by Rob Andrew, and he has not yet had a chance to meet with England team manager Martin Johnson.
But from his high-performance experience at UK Sport, Steele suggested it may already be too late for next year's World Cup in New Zealand.
"One thing I learned from the Olympic environment is that from talent identification to the podium takes an athlete eight years," he said.
"Next year's World Cup is hugely important. If I can use the Olympic environment as an example, there is clear factual evidenec that you are much more likely to win a medal at your second Olympics rather than your first.
"There is similar evidence in rugby. England won't go into any tournament without wanting to win it - but the performance in 2011 is a building block for 2015 and a home World Cup."
But Thomas believes Steele's high-performance experience can help turn England into world-beaters once again.
Steele coached at Northampton before moving into sports administration and at UK Sport he played a key role in Britain's most successful Olympics in 100 years at Beijing 2008.
"We all want Fortress Twickenham back and to go to games knowing we should win. That has changed. We are not as confident as we once were and that underlines John's appointment," said Thomas.
"He has the skills for the development of these elite athletes and that is the focus we will go on. Rugby has to be the be-all and end-all."
http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,3551_6363792,00.html
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Nice to see some honesty instead of Baron.
Steele, the former Northampton fly-half and coach, was appointed from UK Sport as Francis Baron's replacement charged with putting rugby back at the heart of the RFU's agenda.
Baron was the first Twickenham chief executive and he retired this summer having guided the once cash-strapped union into a position of financial strength.
RFU chairman Martyn Thomas admitted rugby priorities had been sacrificed in the drive for commercial success. With England sixth in the world, that will now change.
But Steele tempered expectations by suggesting England's best chance of World Cup success could be on home soil in 2015 rather than in New Zealand next year.
"To be blunt, everyone connected with the game would like to see England's ranking higher than it is now," said Steele, who took office on Monday.
"We are the richest union in the world and that is something that is of massive credit to my predecessor - but that is a means to an end.
"We are not a FTSE 100 company, we are an organisation that is here to serve and lead rugby. Profit is fantastic but it is a means of investing in the game.
"Your top team is your showcase, it is hugely important. You cannot buy high-performance success but you do need a minimum amount of resources.
"I don't believe a union with the resources we have should see money around the high performance area as being restrictive."
Steele is not planning a review of the elite department, headed by Rob Andrew, and he has not yet had a chance to meet with England team manager Martin Johnson.
But from his high-performance experience at UK Sport, Steele suggested it may already be too late for next year's World Cup in New Zealand.
"One thing I learned from the Olympic environment is that from talent identification to the podium takes an athlete eight years," he said.
"Next year's World Cup is hugely important. If I can use the Olympic environment as an example, there is clear factual evidenec that you are much more likely to win a medal at your second Olympics rather than your first.
"There is similar evidence in rugby. England won't go into any tournament without wanting to win it - but the performance in 2011 is a building block for 2015 and a home World Cup."
But Thomas believes Steele's high-performance experience can help turn England into world-beaters once again.
Steele coached at Northampton before moving into sports administration and at UK Sport he played a key role in Britain's most successful Olympics in 100 years at Beijing 2008.
"We all want Fortress Twickenham back and to go to games knowing we should win. That has changed. We are not as confident as we once were and that underlines John's appointment," said Thomas.
"He has the skills for the development of these elite athletes and that is the focus we will go on. Rugby has to be the be-all and end-all."
http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,3551_6363792,00.html
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Nice to see some honesty instead of Baron.
