MARTIN JOHNSON'S decision to remove Brian Ashton from the England coaching team, while retaining John Wells, would appear to indicate a return to the days of efficiency and organisation which made the men in white the number one-ranked side in the world earlier in the decade. But the appearance may be deceptive.

Johnson was captain then, rather than the team manager he will become in July, and even if the Rugby Football Union has called on him to instil discipline into the national squad and greater consistency in selection and performance, what England really need is Johnson the player. Where was the leadership when the games against Wales and Scotland this year started to turn sour?

If Johnson's first act, even before taking up the job, was to remove Ashton as head coach - a position which is likely to become redundant, its title subsumed in that of Johnson, who will be underpinned by three senior coaches - his second will be to appoint an attack coach capable of challenging the most talented group of young backs to emerge into the English system for many years, most of whom are products of the national academy in the years Ashton was in charge of it.

Another former England captain, Lawrence Dallaglio, said in his autobiography last year that Wells, the forwards coach, and Ashton did not complement each other. "Brian wanted England playing with width and imagination, reacting to what the opposing team was doing, while John Wells had a very different view. He was the epitome of Leicester - great set pieces, a bit of dog and a lot of efficiency. If John was a football coach you would put him in charge of Germany and be confident he would deliver results. It could have been a marriage made in heaven, John's pragmatism allied to Brian's vision and wisdom, but they did not appear to gel."

Johnson and Wells were playing contemporaries at Leicester between 1989 and 1993, Wells captaining the side for the last two of those years before becoming the club's forwards coach in 1998, taking over as head coach in 2004, the year before Johnson retired from playing. Yet although England were known for their grinding efficiency under Johnson's captaincy, they also showed they could play an expansive game - witness the difference between their two victories over Australia in 2003, the flair and pace adopted in Melbourne that summer replaced by an attritional approach in the World Cup final in Sydney six months later.

Mike Catt, the London Irish player-coach, yesterday declared an interest in coaching England's backs. "This is as good a crop of young players as I have seen," he said. "It is going to take time and they have to be managed properly. That is the big issue at the moment. Who is going to manage them?

"The future is very, very good. I can see Shane Geraghty starting outside Danny Cipriani, an instinctive player you can base a team around. They will make sure the try-scorers out wide see more of the ball. It is vital you have technically aware people, who are respected, managing these players." Bringing in Catt, another 2003 World Cup-winner, would ensure Johnson's England did not become Leicester in white.

Former centre Will Greenwood, who also played in the final five years ago, said England would reflect the realism that characterises Johnson. "If a game promises to be a street fight, don't expect to see the prettiest of backs lining up."

For all Ashton's bold vision of how the game should be played, his England were at their best when their backs were to the wall and the pressure was on, as they showed during the latter stages of the World Cup. They were less comfortable taking a game to opponents, something Johnson will need to address.

Guardian Service