Anxious wait for Ashton as Johnson set for England role

BRIAN ASHTON will discover exactly what future – if any – he has as England’s head coach when Rob Andrew fronts a specially-convened management board meeting at Twickenham today.

Andrew is expected to propose World Cup-winning captain Martin Johnson as England’s new hands-on team manager, an appointment which will undermine Ashton’s position.

Ashton had been promised a manager of his own choosing – someone who would share the managerial burden but who would not get involved in rugby affairs.