September '06 - So now we know - Rob Andrew is the RFU’s new Director of Elite Rugby. At first glance his first job would appear to be to attempt to sort out the club versus country debacle for which all those involved on both sides of the divide should, quite frankly, be ashamed.

But no, that’s not his first job.

That’s his second job. His first job must be to sack England’s Head Coach, Andy Robinson. England’s record under Robinson’s stewardship is nothing short of appalling. Eight wins out of eighteen matches, with only two of those wins coming against a top 5 ranked nation (and both of those at home) is an unacceptable record under any circumstances and is the stuff of nightmares for the so-called world champions.

That Robinson survived the spring cull by the RFU of the England coaching staff is nothing short of scandalous and still a source of amazement to most England supporters.

Saved, it seems, by a vote of confidence from the very players who had continually underperformed under his guidance, Robinson inexplicably retained his position whilst his entire coaching staff were either sacked or “redeployed”.

A new coaching team of John Wells, Brian Ashton and Mike Ford were eventually appointed and the result? Yet another hammering down under at the hands of a no more than average Australian team, with young players of potential like Matt Tait and Magnus Lund shunted around out of position and, in the latter’s case, inexplicably left out of the team for the Second Test.

Selection has been a major weakness under Robinson’s tenure. Players lacking form have been retained too long or recalled too early whilst players of potential have either been jettisoned too quickly or ignored entirely.

That Robinson inherited a team already some way past its peak and shorn of the talents of key men like Johnson, Leonard and Wilkinson is not in doubt, but it’s coming up to three years since the World Cup victory, three years in which England have failed to rebuild. It’s reported that, from now on, Andy Robinson will no longer have the final say over who plays for England.

If that’s true then one might quite reasonably question what his role will entail, given that John Wells now has charge of the forwards, Mike Ford organises the defence and Brian Ashton is responsible for England’s attacking strategy.

With Rob Andrew now appointed as Robinson’s boss, and presumably overseeing the selection process, this appears to leave the Head Coach with little to add to the mix and his position looks increasingly untenable.

So, in the absence of a Andy Robinson’s resignation (something he would surely have done by now if he was going to) the question is will the new Director of Elite Rugby have the courage to do what is necessary and sack the Head Coach?

Rob Andrew hasn’t exactly been slow in coming forward with his opinion of the England set-up in the last few seasons and has publicly criticised Robinson. He’s also not been afraid to make tough decisions as Director of Rugby at Newcastle.

But, and it’s a big but, Andrew is now an employee of the RFU and, as we all know, that can do funny things to people.