Fletcher eyes rugby union switch

Fletcher has come under fire after revelations in his autobiography

Former England cricket coach Duncan Fletcher has revealed he would relish the chance to work in rugby union.

Fletcher has been out of work since standing down as England coach after the Cricket World Cup in April.

"I'd like to be a rugby consultant," Fletcher told the Independent. "I have some ideas.

"I love my rugby, I would rather watch rugby than cricket. I'm passionate about it, it's a game I would like to have been involved in."

After guiding Glamorgan to the County Championship in 1997, Fletcher was appointed England cricket coach in 1999.

A man with a keen eye for detail, Fletcher brought new methods and chains of command to the England set-up and enjoyed a sustained period of success.

The big thing in rugby is changing direction Former England cricket coach Duncan Fletcher

He led England to a historic series win in the West Indies in 2004 before the famous Ashes triumph over Australia in 2005.

But his reign ended in disappointment with the 5-0 Ashes whitewash last winter and exit from the World Cup in the Super 8s.

Despite ending his time with England on a low, the Zimbabwe-born Fletcher has not been put off taking another coaching role.

And he says he already has plenty of ideas that could be brought to rugby union.

"With five-metre penalties, I'm sure there's a system where you could break defensive patterns rather than going to a line-out," he added.

606: DEBATE Would Fletcher be a success in rugby union?

"I would also change the advantage rule. I think they should play advantage to the next breakdown and then make the captain the offer instead of letting the game run for two or three minutes.

"The big thing in rugby is changing direction. That's the key. If you can change direction, you've got a one-metre advantage over the opposition and by the time they have woken up to it, you've stolen that metre. I find that fascinating."

Fletcher, who created a storm with revelations about former skipper Andrew Flintoff in his autobiography, added that having not played top-class rugby union would not be a disadvantage.

"What's much more important is an investigative mind and an understanding of how the body works," he said.