On the eve of this year’s Rugby World Cup, the coach who led England to victory in 2003, detailed how he developed the winning ethos of that side and also how he worked with athletes and business people to generate success.

Woodward outlined the processes he goes through in turning talented individuals into champions. “Talent alone is not enough,” he said. “It is the start not the finish. You also have to be aware that the people you are competing against also have talent.”

He also enlightened the audience on his methods for building great teams. “Great teams are made of great individuals,” he said. “To create winning ways you have to create individual champions who have a passion and want to learn. Individuals tend to be either a sponge or a rock. If you have just one rock in a team, the chances of you being successful and competing against the best are slim. You must have a passion for your subject; if you do, you will learn. If you’ve drifted into being a rock, you need to get back to being a sponge.”

Woodward also described his T-CUP method – Thinking Correctly Under Pressure – saying that “winners perform at their best when pressure is at its greatest”. 

In the Q&A session that followed, Woodward also gave his thoughts on who would make it to the RWC Final suggesting that the winners of the ‘Group of Death’ – who he thought would be England – were likely to face New Zealand at the end of the tournament. England, he said, would triumph.