JOHNSON TO GET TOP JOB
Martin Johnson is expected to be named as England coach today, ending the reign of Brian Ashton.
The World Cup winning captain is likely to be announced as the new England head coach this afternoon by chiefs at Rugby House, with the former Leicester Tigers second-row signing a deal until 2011.
The move would spell the end for current coach Brian Ashton, who guided England to the 2007 World Cup final, although it is believed that he has been offered alternative roles at Twickenham, including his old position of National Academy Manager. It is unlikely however that Ashton will accept a lesser position.
Director of Elite Rugby Rob Andrew is thought to have pursued Johnson since England's disappointing Six Nations campaign and it appears that the role and demands of England's preferred target has effectively frozen out Ashton.
RFU chief executive Francis Baron refused to mention Johnson
by name in a media briefing last week, but Shaun Edwards's revelation he met
with Johnson before signing a new contract with Wales effectively signalled the
end for Ashton.
"Brian's a wise old bird. He'll decide if he likes the
new structure or not - but I hope he does," Baron said last week.
"He's a great individual and being a blunt Lancastrian,
he will tell us if he doesn't like it.
"My hope is that we are strengthening the structure.
Clearly everybody in the new structure, new and old, has to feel they can work
together.
"We can't force people to work together if they don't
want to.
"Maybe I'm being idealistic but I hope the new structure will accommodate everybody and we can move forward with a structure in place that will deliver more consistent and better results for the England team."
The move spells the end of an indifferent period of Ashton, who took over from the sacked Andy Robinson in December 2006.
Having seen England slump to as low as seventh in the world rankings, Ashton took an aging England squad to the World Cup in France against a backdrop of underperformance and poor form.
After a poor start, including a 36-0 defeat to South Africa, Ashton devised an effective game-plan to earn a place in the final, where they lost again to South Africa 15-6.
The decision comes after Ashton was given an "indefinite" length contract by the RFU in December 2007.
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