Give Johnson a job, England

Martin Johnson is being lined up by the Rugby Football Union for a key managerial role in England's challenge for theWorld Cup in New Zealand in four years.

England Team Manager is believed to be one of the job titles being considered by RFU elite rugby director Rob Andrew in his review of England's 2007 World Cup campaign.

Andrew is known to be an admirer of Johnson's knowledge of the game and his leadership qualities.

And the candidacy of England's 2003 World Cup-winning captain is also being pushed by other powerful voices within the English game.

Sir Clive Woodward, head coach of Johnson's triumphant squad four years ago, has declared that, had he been made RFU rugby director, he would certainly have appointed Johnson as England team manager.

Peter Wheeler, a board director of Premier Rugby and chief executive of Johnson's former club Leicester Tigers, said last week that it was only a matter of time before the man he mentored at Welford Road landed a top job.

Wheeler, speaking at the launch of the new club and country agreement at Twickenham last week, said: "Martin is a serious rugby person and has a part to play in professional rugby in one guise or the other. I think he will be involved in serious rugby matters. What that role will be and when it starts is just a matter of time.

"Martin has moved to the point where he wants to get into something seriously."

Wheeler, whose sometimes abrasive exchanges with the RFU management board over the past decade have earned him healthy respect rather than any lack of trust or support, had hoped to lure Johnson back to Welford Road in a management capacity for three or four years before the national cause claimed him.

But he retains the highest regard for his protege's well-proven rugby acumen and ability to identify the core issues in the creation of a successful squad.

At Twickenham, Wheeler, flanked by Andrew and other members of the RFU hierarchy, added: "Martin was frustrated by the early England performances at the recent World Cup. He feels he can do something to help the situation."

While England succeeded in reaching the World Cup final in France under the guidance of head coach Brian Ashton, but many within the game believe that Ashton would benefit from having a team manager working alongside him.

Andrew, who has held talks with Johnson, declined to comment on any future role for the former England captain, saying: "I'm conducting the review and when I'm ready to make comments on the review, I'll let everybody know."

In the four years since his retirement, Johnson has been working from the sidelines of the sport as a rugby pundit, running rugby camps, playing sporting ambassadorial roles and raising money for worthy causes.

The irony of his likely appointment in a key RFU role would not be lost on the union's chief executive, Francis Baron.

Seven years ago, he and Johnson were at loggerheads in a long-running dispute between the England players and the RFU over match fees and individual image rights.

Fortunately, no animosity persists between the men who could soon be RFU colleagues.