Ashton re-appointed England coach after in-depth review by the RFU

ENGLAND head coach Brian Ashton and his lieutenants John Wells and Mike Ford have all been re-appointed following an in-depth review into the state of the national team.

Rob Andrew’s recommendation to keep England’s core World Cup coaching team in place was approved yesterday by the Rugby Football Union’s management board.

Unlike the recent appointments of Warren Gatland in Wales and Robbie Deans in Australia, all three have been awarded the RFU’s standard 12-month rolling contracts rather than deals through to the 2011 World Cup.