Wales's Success Opens the Door for Johnson and White

There are more than enough pressures on coaches, what with everyone thinking that a golden generation is either in bud or full bloom, without Wales winning the grand slam. It is never entirely satisfactory for England when Wales do well, and vice versa for sure, because it always seems to exaggerate the contrast of fortunes.

England finished second, not last, in the Six Nations, but here is Brian Ashton, obliged once again to fight for his job, to justify an extension to his one-year contract. If he does not survive the latest inquisition it will be interesting to see if the Rugby Football Union can persuade Jake White and Martin Johnson to accept rolling 12-month contracts.

'It's the way we work,' may have worked on Ashton, but I suspect the new coach and the new general manager would tell them what they could do with Twickenham's standard form of employment. A probationary period plus annual reviews for World Cup winners? Perhaps not.

England played pretty well for exactly one half of the Six Nations: the first half against Wales and for 80 minutes apiece against France and Ireland. Add to that the solid first half in Rome and England are in credit. The rest of the time they were abject, but there were mitigating circumstances. If ever you need a specialist open side flanker it is against Wales. England lost two in the first half. Ben Kay offers many good things to any team, but, as a rival to Martyn Williams in a game growing looser by the second he may not be the first on your shopping list.

And against Italy England still won. As South Africa, under Jake White, found against Samoa, Tonga and Fiji at the World Cup, sometimes you take the win, however it comes. The Scotland game was grim, bleak enough for Saint Jonny to be dropped, but not the first time England have been bushwhacked at Murrayfield. The Six Nations produces such weirdness, all part of its appeal. Graham Henry discovered such cruelty when coach of Wales, Warren Gatland with Ireland. White would discover it too, however much he advocates power to protect his teams against ambush. It is the way things are, the quirk that denied Sir Clive Woodward's England the grand slam until the wonder year of 2003.

The question over Ashton has always been: what does he want from England? The way England played when on song in the Six Nations seemed to provide a clear answer. Clearer than anything that seems to be coming out of their review, led by director of elite performance Rob Andrew. He has this mix of names: Ashton, Johnson and White. Could they ever work together? Who would be number two? What a picture it would make, both White and Ashton in their tracksuits on the training pitch. Surely not.

Ashton says he does not like the media side of the coaching job, despite being very good at it. So, they would give that to Johnson, who was wonderfully tight-lipped when captain and obviously regarded it as the worst chore on Earth.

Ashton either has to stay on a three-year contract, to continue maturing the generation of Danny Cipriani, Shane Geraghty and Tom Rees, or he has to do an Eddie O'Sullivan, get his lawyers on the case, and go.

Of course, the questions are clearer than the answers because of what happened in Wales. How could it be that Gatland's Wales, the incarnation of anarchy, could win a grand slam, while England, the embodiment of steadfastness, swayed all over the shop? Well, Wales were easy to coach. Troublesome they may have been after 2005, but waywardness has a short shelf-life. By the time the new coach arrived, with his promise to break a few players, he found a squad so keen to obey orders that he had to be careful what to tell them.

'Put him down, pile in and knock lumps out of him,' from Shaun Edwards was merely an invitation to make training in early February more competitive. The players responded a bit too literally. Gatland restored the values of hard work and basic possession. The fancier stuff, the flashes of Shane Williams and Martyn Williams, followed naturally. This was the reverse of the English way, where power was rarely the problem. Adding finesse under pressure was Ashton's problem.

O'Sullivan had it both ways. The problems, that is. The golden generation of Munster forwards stopped dominating; the gilded Leinster backs stopped scoring. Whether it was the coach's fault will be discovered only when the new coach is appointed. Mike Ruddock, for example, wants to go back to Ireland one day. He had happy times coaching Leinster and Ireland A. But is this the right time to take on a side in trouble? Gatland knew the only way was up for Wales. Ireland could yet sink further.

There will never be a serious crisis in England because the likes of Cipriani arrive and elbow even Jonny Wilkinson aside. But who is there in Ireland to give Brian O'Driscoll the hurry-up? In a way, this was a free Six Nations for everyone bar Ashton and O'Sullivan. Marc Lièvremont's selections were brave and rash. Never mind. Nick Mallett's Italy lost all bar one. He's forgiven. Frank Hadden's Scotland were disappointing, but look what he had to deal with.

Free for three, glorious for Gatland. But that still leaves two, Ashton and O'Sullivan, to pay the price of not winning well. In an innocent year a third of the coaches may have lost their jobs. Yes, the pressure comes on when Wales win the grand slam.