Martin Johnson is bullet proof as England team manager heading into next year's Rugby World Cup but his coaches could pay the price for poor results in the autumn Tests and Six Nations.
Rob Andrew last night made it clear Johnson will be in charge for the tournament in New Zealand, which begins next September, even if England fare badly before then. Patently, the men in the firing line would be coaches Brian Smith, John Wells, Graham Rowntree and Mike Ford.
Andrew, the Rugby Football Union's director of elite rugby, said: “We have said for the last two years that when Johnno was appointed he would be taking the team through to the 2011 World Cup and we have repeated that Johnno will decide which coaches he wants to take to the World Cup and that team of coaches has been the same since he was appointed.”
Although Johnson has won just nine of his 21 matches in charge he believes a rare 21-20 victory over Australia in Sydney last summer proves his methods and coaching staff are ready for the World Cup challenge.
“We have talked about wanting to ensure we are very competitive and, of course, we have one eye on the World Cup. We have seen in the last year a transition with players coming through and deserving to be there in a very competitive squad. We know we have to regularly play as we did in Sydney to challenge the best teams in the world.
“The team are heading absolutely in the right direction. We've been through some tough times and that is part of the road you travel and we will be stronger for it.
“We will need to be tough again because there will be defeats between now and the World Cup unless it goes brilliantly well. We need to keep reminding ourselves we can get confidence from good performances and if we do that the results should follow.
“We have seen in the last year or so the transition. This autumn we play the number one-ranked team in the world in New Zealand. You have to play these guys to improve.”
Hopes are rising that England captain Lewis Moody could be fit for the match against the All Blacks on 6 November, having made good progress in his recovery from an eye injury.
He said: “Our agreement with the Premiership clubs is that from the players' last game this season for their teams until the final day of the World Cup we can pick a squad of 50.
“We have asked the French-based players to insist their contracts have exactly the same conditions of release as an England-based player. We have been assured by all the players in the Elite Player Squad that is in place.”
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