Nick Mallett
Suddenly the man very much in place. He is about to arrive in England to coach the southern hemisphere in the Heroes match at Twickenham and has already had plenty to say about not fancying the job if Rob Andrew is still around. Great CV. Coached South Africa to a 17-game winning run – still a record. Twice took Stade Français to the French championship after a relatively short time coaching. Had mixed results with Italy, but he is credited with changing the Italians to regional rugby and they did beat France in the last Six Nations. Downside: Twickenham might think twice about a man who so clearly knows his own mind.
Sir Clive Woodward
No so long ago it looked as though the powers in the land were paving the way for England's white knight to return in the hope of putting English rugby back where he left it in 2003. Alas, most of his support has vanished with the departures that have followed the politicking at Twickenham and Sir Clive's most recent words were that he was sticking with his Olympics job. However, if he is promised total control you never know, although it is hard to seen Woodward and Andrew getting on.
Jim Mallinder
Northampton's head man and the architect behind their rise from division one to within touching distance of last season's Heineken Cup. Made to sound like a candidate after being boxed into a corner by some clever questioning recently, but may be too soon in a career that suggests he might be a better coach than the top dog. Especially in a team that – ask Andy Robinson and Brian Ashton – has to fight as many battles off the field as on it. Some would say he is too nice a guy.
Warren Gatland
England have lost Shaun Edwards (again) to a bit of Welsh rapid response, so why not run a poaching expedition of their own? Gatland had many fans in his home country, New Zealand, at the end of the World Cup, but has not been approached for the All Black job and the Welsh Rugby Union believes it has him under lock and key, having rushed through a contract extension. Nevertheless, Gatland's ability to win a grand slam first time up and then build a young team in his own image, will not have been lost on the richest union in the world.
Graham Henry
An off-the-peg World Cup winner. Henry had a bit of fun recently at Twickenham's expense, saying he wouldn't mind "helping out", but a golden retirement plus a nice little job with the New Zealand Rugby Union would seem more to his liking. That said, he does know the patch, having run Wales – remember the Great Redeemer – and his sidekick, Wayne Smith, once of Northampton, is also available for a short gig. In extremis.
Jake White
Has offered to do the job often enough, but then again he has said the same about most vacancies around the globe. The 2007 winner with South Africa might have been a candidate when he was so badly treated in his own land and elbowed aside after handing over the William Ellis Cup. He had built the Springboks – many of them through age group rugby – and proved a good enough diplomat to survive the era of "transition" and its quotas. However, his most recent offer to "take over" from Peter de Villiers ahead of the World Cup in New Zealand won him few friends.
