As an outsider, it's easy to have sympathy for Stuart Lancaster.
The man who gave England back their dignity, made them harder to hate, and removed the circus that had grown around the team under Martin Johnson. Lancaster made England a tough team to beat, and until the World Cup - results were going well.
It's harsh that so much of the blame is falling on Lancaster for England's World Cup failings - but perhaps this is a bigger indication of something wrong.
Lancaster was the front runner to replace outgoing Irishman Conor O'Shea in charge of Premiership side Harlequins, but it now appears that he has been ruled out after an intervention from the team's English internationals.
According to the Daily Mail Danny Care, Joe Marler, Mike Brown, and former Lancaster captain Chris Robshaw stepped in to have a word with Harlequins chief executive David Ellis to express serious concerns about Lancaster. The main issue appears to be the lack of hands on coaching experience that Lancaster has, despite being the head coach of England, and his candidacy to replace O'Shea as director of rugby and not head coach.
Quins have already missed out on their top choice, with New Zealand coach Wayne Smith agreeing to extend his deal with the NZRU until after the Lions tour in 2017.
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