Sir Clive makes a lowly start in soccer

Former England boss Sir Clive Woodward had his first hands-on experience with Southampton Football Club on Tuesday night, taking a pew in the dug-out for the second-string XI's outing to Dagenham's Victoria Ground.

A Knight's Tale: Woodward finds work in Dagenham

Sir Clive, who lead the British & Irish Lions to New Zealand earlier this year, looked on as the Saints Reserves muscled their way to a 2-1 win over their counterparts from West Ham.

Woodward - along with Simon Clifford - assisted Stuart Henderson, the coach of the club's reserves team.

But according to Saints chairman Rupert Lowe, Henderson can sleep easy - his job is not about to be pilfered by the man who masterminded England's Rugby World Cup victory of 2003.

"It's not a take-over by Clive Woodward as some people have suggested," said Lowe.

"Stuart will pick the team and we'll see how it's working but [Saints coach] Harry Redknapp is on board and supports this.

"There are no plans for Stewart Henderson to do anything but run the reserves. He is a very good guy doing a great job.

"He will pick the team and run the reserves but Clive Woodward and Simon Clifford will also be involved over the next few weeks."

Woodward's last act in rugby was played out in front of 48,000 enraptured fans at Eden Park in Auckland, with the All Blacks running five tries past the browbeaten Lions.

On Tuesday, two first-half goals from David McGoldrick and Yoann Folly cancelled out an early strike from Tony Stokes.

Reports suggest that a couple of dog-walkers witnessed some of the action in Essex.

By Andy Jackson