Will carling backs dean richards as next england rugby coach

“Dean Richards would be great,” he said. “Deano could be a management figure and bring in his own coaching team. He did a great job at Leicester and he’s doing a great job at Harlequins.

“He’s got a huge amount of respect from people and wouldn’t stand any nonsense, from above or below, and that’s exactly what we need at the moment.”

Carling also discounted the idea of a non-English coach taking over, despite the success New Zealander Warren Gatland has had with Wales, delivering the Grand Slam and playing some great rugby.

"I'm old fashioned and I'd like to see an Englishman being the head guy of England. People talk about [South African] Jake White, who's a very strong contender, primarily because he hasn't got a job. But that's not the criteria we should be looking at to move forward.

"Also, White has won the world cup, as it were, for his country, so is he really going to be as committed and desperate to do it again for another country just because it's his job?

"I think in international sport there is emotion in it, of course there is, and maybe that emotion drives you those last few inches, that makes all the difference whether you're a coach, a player and I think taking on a guy who has achieved it, I'm just not sure he'd have the edge."

The RFU will decide Ashton’s future in the next few days and the chances are his contract, which expires in May, won’t be renewed. Despite England’s run to last year’s World Cup final, performances and results have been disappointing, and Carling, 42, is adamant it’s not good enough.

He said: “The biggest disappointment is the lack of progress we’ve made since the World Cup. To get to the final was a shock, if everyone’s honest, but it was a great achievement.

“I hoped we wouldn’t make the same mistake we made in 2003, just sit back and think we’re okay.

“Yet, that’s exactly what we’ve done. All the issues and problems apparent in the World Cup have been ignored and that’s frustrating.”

Carling skippered England in 59 of his 72 appearances, leading them to three Grand Slams, and he thinks Ashton’s selection skills were the problem.

“I think he let emotion come into it,” he said. “I’ve no idea what Josh Lewsey did [to be ignored]. The guy is the best full-back in the country at the moment, so why not have a discussion and move on.

“Brian is a good coach, but he’s not a good selector. Selection is not emotive, it should be hard-nosed.

“It’s about picking the best players and England winning matches, not about some guy who might have criticised you.

“I was involved in selection when I was 22 and that was very hard, because you’ve got guys who are your mates and guys who aren’t. But it’s not about picking mates and dropping enemies, it’s about picking the best England team.

“That’s the only way I could justify telling my mates they were dropped. You have to believe that all the selections were made honestly and fairly to pick the best team.”

One player Carling is pleased to see involved in the England set-up is giant Tongan-born winger Lesley Vainokolo, although he doesn't feel he's been used in quite the right way.

"Well, he hasn't been involved," he said. " We've not made it easy for him.

"The guy is new to union, he's got huge potential and we've hardly involved him. To me it's like schoolboy planning. It was mind-blowing.

"To me it was such a waste of an opportunity. We picked this guy and left him on the wing. He's been a huge asset to Gloucester and if their coach Dean Ryan can do that, then someone can do that on the international stage.

"I think they rushed him in, for which I felt quite sorry about for him. There's no doubting the guy's ability and talent and presence, but you've got to help him, you've got to involve him and we haven't done that.

"It's a very different game to league but the one position where it's easier to mix between the two is wing. So, he has got a number of benefits there. He's a runner. He's a boy who does damage with a ball in his hands. The logic is give him the bloody ball."

Surprisingly, Carling does not begrudge old rivals Wales claiming the Grand Slam.

“They deserve it,” he said. “Much as there’s the history of thinking you’d love the Welsh to lose, when it comes down to it they deserve it.”

Carling also selected his team of the tournament, and unsurprisingly there were precious few England players included.

He said: "No, not many England players but sadly that's the nature of the way they've played and how we haven't developed. The win in France was great but it was still pretty constricted. It's a shame."

His team:
15. Cedric Heymans (France)
14. Shane Williams (Wales)
13. Gavin Henson (Wales)
12. Tom Shanklin (Wales)
11. Vincent Clerc (France)
10. James Hook (Wales)
9. Mike Phillips (Wales) or Jean-Baptiste Ellisalde (France)
8. Ryan Jones (Wales)
7. Martyn Williams (Wales)
6. Thierry Dusautoir (France)
5. Nathan Hines (Scotland) or Ian Gough (Wales)
4. Simon Shaw (England)
3. Duncan Jones (Wales)
2. Dimitri Szarzewski (France)
1. Andrew Sheridan (England)

You can share your rugby opinions with Carling, and other rugby greats like Ieuan Evans and Zinzan Brooke, by joining Rucku – rugby’s first online clubhouse. For details log onto www.rucku.com.

simon.hayes@wharf.co.uk