Sir Clive Woodward has launched a scathing attack on the Rugby Football Union's director Rob Andrew.

The former England coach has hit out at the businessman's capabilities of appointing a new national coach after Martin Johnson's departure last week.

"All the people who appointed Johnson - a man who had never coached anyone at any level - are still in place," Woodward wrote in The Times. "There is nobody who understands elite performance and rugby at the very top. Equally disturbing, the same people are going to appoint the next coach.

"[Andrew] refused last week at a press conference to take any responsibility for the past shambles. Then he told the media that he took no responsibility for anything that happened at the World Cup.

"So why does he have responsibility for choosing the new coach? The absolute key question for me is whether he has the skill set to appoint the new coach. Experience says he does not."

The search for a new England coach is underway with a number of contenders in the fray.