The Ts have been crossed and the Is dotted, so for the next four years, until at least the 2015 World Cup in England, I'll be with Wales. Adds a bit of spice to life doesn't it, but there are bound to be those who say: "Why not England?" Well, the simple answer is that they didn't ask.

Some time, a bit further down the line, there may come a time when I get to wear the red rose. It is something I would enjoy because, after all, I'm English and representing your country is what you aspire to. However, at the moment I don't want to talk about England.

I did get a few other calls once it became known that I was a free agent but since the day I left their employ, Wales and the WRU chief executive, Roger Lewis, have been perfectly professional about getting me back on board. Even before we left New Zealand and the World Cup we had spoken and when the Wasps situation became apparent that was taken into consideration as well.

Actually, all in all I don't think – given the circumstances – it could have worked out better. My time at Wasps ended amicably; I've left a lot of friends behind but the important thing is that they remain friends. At the same time I understand that any new coaching team is going to want to do things its way.

However, the new WRU deal does give me potential continued contact with the Premiership and club rugby each weekend, something I was keen to preserve. More than anything I wanted to remain an international coach, because it is the ultimate test and because it does ask more of you, but at the same time I am addicted to the regular buzz of club weekends.

The only downside to Test rugby is that there isn't enough of it. Outside the autumn and the Six Nations, and when there isn't a World Cup, there can be too many downtimes – times when you might still have the next game, or the last game for that matter, in the front of your mind but nothing immediate to make the blood race.

I can't yet say which club, if any, I'm likely to be with but the WRU deal makes it possible and it also makes it possible for me to be released to work with the Lions in Australia, if they want me. Those things are the many positives for someone who lives in the here and now and wants to talk about Wales not any other potential employer.

I understand the Welsh environment and have enjoyed it massively for the last four seasons, culminating in a World Cup which should have made everyone – fans, players, coaches, committee men – proud.

It hasn't all been sweetness and light but nothing ever is. It will take an eternity to take away the hurt of losing, and the manner of the loss, in the semi‑final to France because I genuinely believe we could have beaten the All Blacks team that lined up for the final but at least there is a promising – and that might be an underestimate – future to look forward to.

The team that did itself and everyone else proud in New Zealand is essentially a young one – guys like Sam Warburton, Rhys Priestland, Dan Lydiate and Toby Faletau – built around a core of experience – like Gethin Jenkins, Adam Jones and Jamie Roberts.

We went to the World Cup having left some good guys back home injured but everyone stepped up and there's world class, or potential world class, in plenty of positions. I just can't wait to have a crack at the Australians next month because we've come close in the past and owe one to the fans. Given this foundation, Wales have every right to expect a pretty rosy future with a team that is contractually locked in place and which has ambition, a head coach who is also here until 2015 and a settled bench of coaches which knows how to improve, and a backroom of analysts, trainers and medics which has been brilliant at feeding us the ammunition. Looking around the world stage, it would appear to me to be a position that should be envied.

And I also feel relieved. Being out of work can be quite unsettling, especially when you read endless reports of jobs you've been offered but that you know nothing about.