THE England coach Jack Rowell yesterday made the astonishing accusation that his former second in command Dick Best was trying to undermine the England squad's build up to tomorrow's international against Italy at Twickenham.
Rowell questioned the timing and motivation of a bitter personal attack by Best on the England supremo who sacked him from his post as coach two years ago. Best also described certain RFU members as "two faced and gutless."
The long running war of words between the two coaches was given a fresh twist when Chris Sheasby, who wins his first cap as England's number eight due to the late withdrawal of the injured Ben Clarke, suggested he would not have been selected had he remained with Harlequins instead of switching to Wasps last summer. Best, the Harlequins director of rugby, pushed Sheasby's international claims with a notable lack of success last season.
Rowell, who supervised an England squad session at Twickenham yesterday, took Best to task in strong terms for his outburst. "I am sorry to hear about Dick Best's remarks," he said. "It's not my practice to criticise or comment on the work of other coaches. I don't understand the motivation of other people who seek to disrupt the preparation of the international team."
Best forecast that Rowell would be sacked by the RFU at the end of this season, though the RFU executive congratulated the England coach on his new look team which includes five new caps, at a meeting last Friday. "You don't give someone a one year contract if you have confidence in him," claimed Best.
Best also criticised Rowell's team selection last season. "In bringing back Dean Richards he wasted a whole year in the development of the team - he did it to get a result, otherwise he would have been out of a job. I don't think he'll be the coach or manager by the time of the next World Cup in 1999.
"I just don't like people who ignore you and cannot even say: `bad luck' after you've lost an international match. Rowell avoids me at all costs - he has avoided confrontation all his life."
