Stuart Lancaster’s England reign summarised in stats: did he do better than Rugby World Cup disaster suggests?
England are on the hunt for a new head coach after the RFU and Stuart Lancaster decided it was best for both parties for him to step down following a disastrous World Cup campaign.
The World Cup ignominy will linger long in England fans' memories, but how did how did the rest of his time in charge compare to his predecessors? Was he as bad as the World Cup suggested – or do the numbers of his reign look better for Lancaster?
Read more: Stuart Lancaster steps down as England head coach
Lancaster's win percentage was the best of any England head coach since Sir Clive Woodward
Lancaster's time in charge may well be defined by a disastrous World Cup, yet over the course of his four years in charge the England boss won a respectable 61 per cent of games – the highest win ratio of any England head coach since World Cup winner Sir Clive Woodward.
Overall, Lancaster's record with the Red Rose reads: played 26, won 26, drawn one and lost 17.
Lancaster recorded just three wins over the southern hemisphere's big three
In 15 games against New Zealand, Australia and South Africa, Lancaster only recorded three wins and a draw – a 23 per cent win ratio.
A record-breaking 38-21 win over the All Blacks in Lancaster's first year appeared to herald a new dawn for English rugby, but the two sides' subsequent results suggests it was little more than an anomaly.
In contrast, Woodward won 50 per cent of his games against southern hemisphere sides – including a famous second ever win in New Zealand. Martin Johnson also boasted a superior win record over the three powerhouses at 35 per cent with five wins recorded between 2008 and 2011.
England failed to win a Six Nations title during the period…but he's far from the first
Lancaster's time in charge of England was marked by its lack of a Six Nations title. Yet he's not alone on that front.
In fact, only Martin Johnson and Sir Clive Woodward have won the tournament since it expanded to six teams in 2000.
Lancaster won 75 per cent of his games at the Six Nations: 18 wins, six losses and no draws.
England averaged more points and more tries per game under Lancaster than any other head coach since Woodward
Under Lancaster England averaged 25.5 points per game, recorded a positive average points differential of 7.4 and scored an average of 2.5 tries per game.
The last England head coach to match such numbers? You guessed it: Woodward (although under Andy Robinson the team did average 2.9 tries per game).
