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DERMOT MURNAGHAN: Now 2011 was a pretty dismal year, to say the least, for the England rugby team – poor behaviour off the pitch combined with some pretty poor performances on it made for an embarrassing World Cup effort so are England fans in for a better year? Well Ian Richie certainly hopes so because he is the Chief Executive of the RFU, the Rugby Football Union and formerly Chief Executive of the All England Lawn Tennis Club. A very good morning to you, Mr Richie and I wanted to ask you that, given that you are just getting your feet under the table there at Twickenham, it’s not far from Wimbledon to Twickenham, does anything transfer, does anything translate from looking after the world’s top tennis tournament to looking after one of the world’s biggest rugby countries?

IAN RICHIE: Good morning, Dermot. Well I think it does, I think it’s relevant to have some experience in sport, not only did I have nearly seven years at Wimbledon but I’ve been on the board of the Football League, I’ve been on the board of Wembley and I think some skills, hopefully some experiences do transfer. I think you have also got to be very aware of the fact that rugby is an individual sport, an individual culture of its own and it has its own breadth of experience and culture you need to understand but hopefully some of the skills are indeed transferrable.

DERMOT MURNAGHAN: So I take that on board and read into it that you are going through a bit of a learning curve or a listening curve I suppose but in your in-box first up is to get a permanent coach for the England team, do you think Stuart Lancaster has done enough to hang on to it?

IAN RICHIE: I think the process which we’re going through at the moment is going to be a very good, a very thorough one. The England coach undoubtedly is one of the best jobs in rugby and we’ve been delighted so far with the list of applicants that we’ve had, the candidates that are in place. Stuart is unquestionably one of those, he has done I think many good things since he has taken on the job as Head Coach, he has transformed a lot of the team culture, he has certainly resonated with the supporters around the country and he has done a lot of extremely good things. Selection however is all about comparatives and what we have got to do, the group of us that are looking at this, look at who are the other candidates, how do they compare but Stuart, certainly because of what he has achieved, has put himself into the frame.

DERMOT MURNAGHAN: Okay but are there other criteria, does the England coach have to be English?

IAN RICHIE: I don't think the England coach has to be English, no. I think it is a benefit if he is but bearing in mind that this is one of the top jobs in world rugby and as far as the England team is concerned we are looking at wanting to compete at the highest level, wanting obviously to be a very strong force in the 2015 World Cup which fortunately is going to be based in England, so I think the first thing is to find the right person with the top skills for the job and whether or not that person is English is not necessarily the highest relevant factor.

DERMOT MURNAGHAN: And do you also want to find someone as coach, I mean the message coming from you in management to I suppose say to the players, loud and clear, that what went on at the World Cup won’t be tolerated, not just in terms of behaviour off the pitch, performances on the pitch and indeed this idea that perhaps more of them are interested in money than in wearing their country’s shirt?

IAN RICHIE: I think it is absolutely right to get the cultures and the values right, not only for the team but also for the RFU and I think certainly that is one of the major things that Stuart has done extremely well in such a short time too. Anybody who watched the England Wales game on Saturday I don't think was in any doubt about the effort, the skill and the team spirit of the England team and I think it was very interesting to see how it translated into the crowd. I thought the crowd atmosphere at Twickenham on Saturday was fantastic, the support was absolutely excellent and I think that resonates around the supporters and around the country as well.

DERMOT MURNAGHAN: So okay, you get the crowd onside, you get the right coach, you get some good young players who are beginning to perform it seems in the Six Nations. What does that leave you with? Well it leaves you with the management that you are now part of and it was said that Martin Johnson had a pretty torrid time with what was going on at the RFU behind the scenes, the machinations, the character assassinations, the backbiting, it was like a nest of vipers wasn’t it?

IAN RICHIE: I think nobody would say things were perfect in terms of 2011 Dermot, I’m not going to deny that. My role, my job and I think there is a great willingness around all of the RFU and anybody who is involved in rugby to move it forward, so I am very much focusing on what do we learn, how do we move it forward, being positive about it. Rugby is a positive sport to play, to participate. I went to Dorking yesterday as a slight contrast to Twickenham and I was listening to what they were doing about mini rugby and this morning as we speak even in Dorking, a very small place relatively speaking, there are 600 kids and 60 coaches playing mini rugby so let’s not forget the importance of rugby across the piece. There is always a focus on the international team but I am very conscious as well that although the international team can absolutely inspire everybody else to play and I think the 2015 Rugby World Cup will inspire everybody to play the sport, but let’s not forget that it’s a community game as well.

DERMOT MURNAGHAN: Well exactly but that’s the point isn’t it, that people do want to see that and it does encourage rugby at the community level, they want to see the national team perform perhaps as it should, as it topped the world stage in 2003 and should do that more often and you are the guy who can help make that happen. I’ve read the articles that say it is not rocket science and it’s easy to write and hard to do, but the fact is you have got to let the coach coach the players and pick the team and keep the management off his back.

IAN RICHIE: I think that’s part of my role. What I am certainly not going to do is run up and down a touchline in a tracksuit, I am certainly not going to be telling him how to pick the team but it is like I think a lot of other executives that I have recruited over the years, what you have got to do is to provide support, encouragement, it’s selection of the right person and I think any head coach would also say it is selection of the right team so I don't think it is rocket science and I think what we need to try and do is make sure after due process we appoint absolutely the best person we believe can lead forward and I think I’ve got a great team of people advising me, Ian McGeechan, Connor O’Shea, Richard Hill, Rob Andrew, who are all going I think help to ensure we get the right person. That certainly is the highest priority I’ve got at the moment.

DERMOT MURNAGHAN: Do you also think there is maybe a bit of repair work just establishing the precise relationship with the clubs? Of course the clubs say you are taking key players away from our teams, this is a professional sport now with a lot of money at stake, a lot of trophies potentially at stake and we don’t want players away for long periods of time or indeed coming back injured.

IAN RICHIE: I think that’s very important, I think you’re absolutely right. I think that relationship particularly with the premiership clubs, is very much one of the things that the Head Coach needs to do develop and of course those directors of rugby at those clubs spend more time with the players than probably anybody else, they understand them and what I want to get to is a situation where when the club players come to England they believe that they enjoy it, that it enhances what their understanding of the game is, that the coaching that they get is absolutely top class and that we build this as a bond. I am under no doubt that all of the directors of rugby at the premiership clubs want to see a strong, vibrant, successful England team but also recognise yes, when their players come to England that they come back to them hopefully having learned more and yes, being in good shape as far as we can manage it. People get injured in rugby, that’s unavoidable I’m afraid.

DERMOT MURNAGHAN: That’s true. Okay, Mr Richie, thank you very much indeed for talking to us, that’s Ian Richie, the new Chief Executive of the RFU on putting in place the building blocks for the World Cup in 2015.