Clubs Back Johnson for England Role

Twickenham's power-brokers meet today to discuss the England management set-up, under pressure from Guinness Premiership clubs to bring in Martin Johnson and give him total authority to run the national side.

The Rugby Football Union's 14-strong management board will gather at Twickenham to hear a report and recommendations from the Union's director of elite rugby, Rob Andrew, about the national management team. Andrew spoke to Johnson, the England World Cup winning captain in 2003, last week about whether he would be interested in the role of team manager. The answer was a conditional yes: Johnson wants to be the No1 figure in the set-up, which would put him on a potential collision course with the current head coach, Brian Ashton.

Ashton would be happy with a team manager whose duties were largely administrative but club owners have told management board members that players came back from international duty complaining about what they said was a lack of clarity from the England management and they were unsure who was calling the shots. The clubs are demanding a shake-up and Johnson is seen as the ideal figure to do what Warren Gatland has done at Wales and provide leadership and selection. If Andrew recommends Johnson becomes team manager, the management board is likely to insist that the 37-year-old assumes total control with the authority to review the coaching team regardless of what Andrew argues for.