By Sophie Watkiss
Published: 00:54 BST, 16 June 2019 | Updated: 08:13 BST, 16 June 2019
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The new RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney has taken on the unenviable task of restoring faith in the governing body, but it is the All Blacks who have instilled his burning desire to return England back to the top.
The former British Olympic Association chief, who took up his new role in May, is no stranger to highly pressurised situations, overseeing three successful Olympic campaigns.
And it is one of Sweeney's previous roles - working with Adidas and the All Blacks in 2004 - that has fuelled his passion to restore England's No 1 status.
New chief executive Bill Sweeney has taken on the unenviable task of restoring faith in the RFU
'I will never forget when I worked at Adidas, I was given responsibility for the All Blacks contract,' said Sweeney. 'I was at a dinner in 2004, England had just won the World Cup, Steve Hansen and a bunch of players were there, and they said "You are the only Englishmen here, congratulations, well done you have just won a World Cup, you will never do it again. Your country is incapable of sustained success. You will win and you will drop off."
'It has never left me that dinner. It is not as if we as a nation are not capable of that, we are capable of that. We have got the athletes, the technology, the commitment, the
