Brian Ashton for coach

SO, Brian Ashton brings England to a World Cup final before leading them to their highest Six Nations finish since 2003 and is then unceremoniously dumped.
We knew the world of professional rugby held little room for sentiment but as shaftings go, this was pretty spectacular. Ashton has been offered his old job as head of the National Academy but has not yet indicated whether he will accept the RFU's consolation prize -- he should tell them to shove it.
Ashton's time as Ireland coach in 1997-98 left a bad taste in the mouth. He came across as a taciturn, intolerant man with a barely concealed contempt for the Irish system and the players operating within it.
However, the perception of the 61-year-old Lancastrian has altered in the intervening 10 years. His last game in charge was the hammering of Ireland at Twickenham last month, which was also Eddie O'Sullivan's final match as Ireland coach. But, rather than crow about getting one over his old employers, Ashton was magnanimous in victory and has since behaved with tremendous dignity as the vultures circled.
Now, as Ashton considers his options, the hollow praise of RFU Elite Rugby Director Rob Andrew will be ringing in his ears.
"I would like to thank Brian for the job he has done in difficult circumstances," said Andrew yesterday. "He is an outstanding coach and deserves enormous credit for leading England to a second successive Rugby World Cup final last year and securing the runners-up position in this year's Six Nations."
Touching, but it is still a dumping -- the rugby equivalent of "it's not you, it's me".
Which is entirely correct. For Andrew's role in this whole sorry process does not reflect well on the former England out-half and director of rugby at Newcastle.
There are question marks over his judgement dating back to his playing days with some former team-mates privately convinced he cost them the 1991 World Cup final by abandoning the tactics that had brought them to the decider against Australia.
Since his appointment as the RFU's chief enforcer in 2006, Andrew first undermined Ashton's predecessor (sitting stony-faced like the grim reaper behind Andy Robinson as England struggled to live up to their status as world champions) before placing Ashton in a position of continual uncertainty regardless of what was achieved.
Despite being endorsed as head coach in December, Ashton was treated shamefully by Andrew's public courting of former World Cup-winning captain Martin Johnson, who has now been approved as team manager on a three-and-a-half year contract, starting on July 1.
Johnson will have full managerial control of the team, including the appointment of the coaching and management team as well as the player selection process.
Barbarians
In the interim, Andrew will assume the duties of manager for the match against the Barbarians on June 1 and the two-test tour of New Zealand later that month.
Johnson will appoint an additional coach in due course, expected to be a backs coach and it seems there will be no head coach appointed under Johnson, which suggests he is being brought in as a Clive Woodward general manager figure, overseeing a coaching team with the final say on the general consensus.
Johnson's record as player and captain brooks no argument and he possesses an aura that would preclude arguing with the glowering former second row on any topic.
However, it is an enormous gamble by Andrew to entrust so much responsibility in a man who has no top level experience.
Woodward had cut his coaching teeth with London Irish before getting the England gig and it is worth noting that he had six years at the helm before landing the 2003 World Cup -- which included England's flop at the 1999 tournament.
Ashton was granted no such latitude.