vision for England Rugby and, with their backing, I feel very positive about the future."

It has been a remarkable rise from relative obscurity for Lancaster, a former school teacher who spent two years as director of rugby at Leeds before joining the RFU. Lancaster stepped up from his dual role as Saxons coach and the RFU's head of elite player development to lead England into the Six Nations after Martin Johnson stood down in December.

England had just crashed out of the World Cup in the quarter-finals and the subsequent leaked reports indicated a squad riven by distrust and competing agendas. At that stage, the RFU had already contacted Mallett and Lancaster was not deemed to be a realistic long-term candidate given his inexperience at Test level.

But Lancaster rebuiltthe England team on the pitch and they rounded off the Six Nations with a victory over World Cup finalists France in Paris and a 30-9 thumping of Ireland at Twickenham. Off the pitch, Lancaster's efforts in restoring the reputation of English rugby won him immediate admirers within Twickenham's executive team.

Lancaster engaged with sponsors and media and succeeded in his stated aim of reconnecting the England team with the public, holding an open training session in Leeds and running community coaching projects. Lancaster also clamped down hard on ill-discipline, setting the tone by omitting Danny Care from his Six Nations squad after he was arrested - and subsequently convicted - for drink driving.

There was a wave of public support behind Lancaster even though he did not have the