Six Nations Ireland v England: John O'Sullivan on Andy Robinson who flourished in the wings when England ruled the world but is now the main man in a troubled set-up

"If you can keep your wits about you while all others are losing theirs, and blaming you . . . The world will be yours and everything in it, what's more, you'll be a man, my son."

If - Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936).

Andy Robinson would empathise. The England coach arrived in Dublin on Thursday with a firm grip on the reins of a chariot that had lost a spoke or two in Cardiff before the wheels came off at Twickenham. The model he inherited wasn't in pristine condition when he received it from Clive Woodward but it had propelled England to the pinnacle, a World Cup triumph in 2003.

The last few weeks have been difficult for Robinson as the state of chassis that is English rugby threatens to engulf him and his players. The blame game has started and the inquisition is gathering pace. Using a World Cup triumph as a starting point, the graph is likely to head in one direction, and one direction alone.

Throw in the either retirement of or long-term injury to more than half a dozen players of premium quality, including a talismanic leader and a couple of trusty lieutenants, and it's not surprising that English rugby has been cast out of the Elysian Fields, and is ensconced now in a suburb called "mediocrity". It's likely to be a temporary housing scheme. Martin Johnson, Lawrence Dallaglio, Jonny Wilkinson and Richard Hill, to name but four, would leave a vacuum in any team; there is little need to dust off those particular CVs.

Time waits for no man as Robinson has discovered, with his last shot at even partially redeeming this Six Nations Championship from an English context, available in victory over Ireland. On-field matters would be enough to preoccupy the England coach but he also finds himself at odds with one or two of the clubs and their directors of rugby.

Newcastle Falcons boss Rob Andrew was pointed in his criticism of the way Robinson handled teenage centre Mathew Tait's debut and subsequent demotion. It is symptomatic of a general disagreement between the clubs and the English Rugby Union (RFU), with the players marooned in the middle.

Former England international and Lions manager and a man who patrols the upper echelons of RFU headquarters, Fran Cotton was unequivocal in his support of Robinson in a recent newspaper interview. "There is nobody better in the world than Andy Robinson to do the job," he argued. "I am in absolutely no doubt about that but we have to give him every chance by ensuring he has proper management of the players.

"Andy is top-drawer as are his management team but, as things stand, they are being given the equivalent of almost Mission Impossible. If we get past the quarter-final stage of the next World Cup, we will have done well.

"It's as bad as that which is no criticism of Andy or his management team because they cannot prepare on the existing basis. We all go through tough times. It's just a case of re-checking everything they are doing to make sure it is right. 'Robbo' knows he has the total confidence of everyone involved in the RFU and, I think, the game at large.

"One of the great things about Woodward which I always admired was that he always came back stronger after losing. This current set-up need to demonstrate that, so that they come out of it stronger. You have to go through periods like this to enjoy the good times but Andy is trying to do it with one hand tied behind his back."

Cotton, who was a prime mover in appointing Woodward as England's first professional national team coach in 1997, is in no doubt that the climate of preparation has changed for England, shifting, in his eyes, from a point where they were the best prepared team in the world to the worst.

Issues, according to Cotton, need to be addressed and those include the rising number of non-English qualified players in the Premiership, promotion and relegation and the possibility of a shift to a centrally contracted system for national squad players favoured by, amongst others, Ireland.

Former England international and ex-Leicester coach Dean Richards offers a more basic view about the trials and tribulations of the current English side. "The World Cup had a huge amount to do with it (a decline in fortunes). Even at Leicester we noticed a steep decline in the returning players' form and it took them a while to get back into it. They eventually did, though.

"You simply can't afford to lose forwards of the calibre of Vickery, White, Johnson, Dallaglio, Woodman, Hill and Back. Then you have Will Greenwood and Jonny Wilkinson injured and Dawson off-form. That's 10 out of 15 players missing so the game is in a transitional period.

"Andy needs to take his time in finding 25 players to take forward to the next World Cup. I think he can do that and wish him all the best as I have a lot of respect for him as a coach."

The players contend that there are too many games in the Premiership and that they are being flogged to death especially in between internationals when they occasionally have to suffer local derbies: blood and thunder affairs. They must serve two masters.

Richards is not convinced: "I don't think that's the case at all. It didn't affect them last year. Injuries and retirements will do that to a side. They are now lacking experience but the only way to rectify that is to expose players to the experience of this level."

A reduction from 20 to 16 training release dates per season negotiated between the RFU and the clubs is believed to be one of the reasons why Woodward stepped down, feeling his control over the players was being eroded.

Cotton maintains England do have the depth of talent to haul themselves back to the top of the world game. "If we were not good enough because of a lack of talent, then we'd have to look at our development system. We have the talent to be competitive but if we are going to be top of the international pile, the playing and preparation programme is fundamental.

"The time the coach doesn't want them playing is the week before an international. All that can be pre-arranged."

Whether theory becomes practice will depend on interaction between clubs and the union. Two-point and single-point defeats to Wales and France respectively is hardly calamitous at face value but it's not about losing but the manner of those reverses.

Robinson flourished in the wings but is now being asked to take centre stage. He would lose his predecessor as a coach but Woodward had a superb ability to delegate. He was a chief executive who could draw together the disparate talents of his "heads of departments".

Robinson is known as a no nonsense, strong character. It is the latter virtue he will need, to trust his instincts and not pander to those of others unless he is convinced of their merit.

The English coach might care to observe a liberal distortion of a Woody Allen observation: "More than any other time in history, English rugby faces a crossroads. One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness, the other to total extinction. Let us pray they have the wisdom to choose correctly."

A sense of humour can lighten dark days. Just ask any Irish rugby supporter.