Johnson facing swoop for Ford

MARTIN JOHNSON’S bid to keep his management team in place for the Six Nations could be undermined after it emerged Mike Ford is being considered for the England rugby league head coach’s job.

Ford, the former Oldham, Castleford and Wakefield scrum-half, is understood to be in the frame to replace Tony Smith, who resigned after the Four Nations final last Saturday.

The RFL have set up a four-man panel to find Smith’s replacement and a high-placed Twickenham insider said “gentle enquiries” have been made about Ford’s availability. It is likely the RFL panel will make an appointment before the start of the Super League in February, which coincides with the opening round of Six Nations.