Rather than ego, or lack of it, being Ashton's downfall, what you are describing here is a lack of having the courage of his own convictions and taking the easy way out of problems/avoiding conflict-nothing to do with ego Stuart.

Paul , Bishop Auckland, Co Durham

Was he the right man for the top job? probably not; was he treated with utter contempt? yes; will Johnson do any better? maybe; are Francis Baron and the RFU committees a self serving, shallow bunch of wasters? absolutely.

jonners, weybridge,

I think enough has been said about the appalling treatment of Brian Ashton.It is time to move on, hopefully Martin Johnson will appoint not only a backs coach, and I would certainly favour Mike Catt, but maybe a new team coach as well. Wells should perhaps be replaced.It is a pity that the unlikely partnership of White as head coach under Martin Johnson wouldn't work. Finally Andrew must step down or be fired he has dithhered his way along without in anyway accepting responsibility and most importantly when the flack was flying towards his appointees, his head was well below the parapet. Bring back Clive Woodward and give him a free reign.He and Johnson have worked well in the past and could do so in the future.For all his mistakes and eccentricities he knows what it takes to win the big one and that is a priceless commodity.

Brian I Jones, Southampton, UK

Having dithered for far too long in getting rid of Andy Robinson, who was clearly out of his depth, the RFU have now overreacted in the speed with which they've jettisoned Ashton. With the resources at their disposal, there's no excuse for not having had a clear succession plan in place, which would have spared us all these shenanigans.

As for team selection, brilliant prospect though Cipriani is, the idea that he is the saviour who could have turned things around single handedly is just fanciful. England's big problem lies in the pack, notably in the second row, who just haven't given the solid platform needed for any back line to succeed. They disappeared from the game in the second half against Wales, and never showed up against Scotland. Shaw, Kay and Borthwick have had numerous chances: unfortunately none has proved to be world class. No-one seems to have questioned whether the forwards coach is doing his job: on the evidence of recent performances, probably not.

Roger Goodacre, London,

Jacques,

'He can't do any worse than Brian Ashton'
Well, 3rd in the RWC in 2011 would be worse. As would 3rd in the 6N in 2009.

If you do feel very sorry for him stop posting such stupid remarks which add to the incorrect perception that he did a bad job. Robinson did a bad job and even Sir Clive did worse in his first RWC in 1999 (quarter final loss to South Africa) than Ashton did in his (quarter final loss to South Africa, only without the quarter)

Stuart, Sutton Coldfield,

For all Brian Ashton's strengths, it was extraordinary how he could gather together as many highly talented players as he did and fail so appallingly to mould them into a team in the Six Nations. As the forces adage goes, there aren't any bad soldiers, only bad officers. Brian Ashton was the weak link, and it's right that he has been replaced. Whether Martin Johnson turns out to have been the right choice, only time will tell, but, frankly, he can't do any worse than Brian Ashton. That's the business case dealt with. On a personal basis, Ashton has been treated rather shabbily, and more tact and discretion should have been used. It doesn't say much for the management skills of the RFU officials involved. However lamentable his performance was, he didn't deserve to be publicly humiliated as he has been, and I fell very sorry for him.

Jacques Francis, Westcott,

The whole saga has been too depressing for words and the treatment meted out to Ashton has been appalling. And now I rather hope Rob Andrew will experience the kind of pressure and stress he has never faced before when he takes England to New Zealand in a few weeks. I also hope Johnson will hold out for the coaching team he wants and maybe he could, in due course, treat Rob Andrew in the way Ashton has been treated. Surely the man is superfluous to the needs of English rugby now?

Cornish Eskimo, East Midlands,

If it only needed ego to be a good coach, Barnes would be the best in the world. He just cant deal with the fact that Rob Andrew was by far a better no. 10 than he was.

Paul Rhodes, Ballito,

Re Your article re Dementia and lethal drugs:
My father, a retired GP, has a vascular dementia and heart trouble, he is very restless and aroused. He often wanders restlessly all night and can be aggressive. Without medication he will exhaust himself and risks heart failure. He has recently gone in to a rest home, where he has fallen, because of his restlessness, and fractured his shoulder. Today he is undergoing a surgical repair. The risk to his survival of this injury and the consequences of surgery is very much greater than the risk of side effects to major tranquillisers such as Olanzepine, albeit that I appreciate how distressing tardive dyskinesia can be. The approprite use of major tranquillisers should improve the quality of life in dementia and enable a patient to be cared for in less restrictive surroundings than would otherwise be required.

Peter Wood, Huddersfield, West Yorks

A very incisive article as usual Mr Barnes.

Brian Ashton persisted with wrong selections for just too long - Balshaw, Vanikolo? What was he thinking?

I agree with most of your England XV but Noon, Shaw, Borthwick and Easter would have to play particularly well to stay in the team with all the exciting new blood around.

David, St Albans, UK

"Had Cipriani played behind a dominant pack against Wales at Twickenham, England would have started the season with a victory... "

Wilkinson was as much responsible for the great first halves against Wales and Italy as for the poor second halves - England's only try against Wales came from Wilkinsons's cross field kick, and weren't his handling skills crucial to one against Italy? Perhaps if Cipriani had been playing Wales' victory would have been more comfortable and Italy would have won.

It's piling too much pressure on Cipriani to pretend he could have fixed single-handed the problems England had in the 6N . It's also absurdly premature So far his international reputation is based on a good performance in a match where nothing much was at stake against a demoralised Irish team.

English rugby commentators seem to have a hysterical belief that every good prospect is a great redeemer. Isn't this what you repeatedly and falsely accuse all Welsh fans of?

Jamie , Bolton, UK

England lost to Wales - get over it. You should be focusing on what the All Blacks will do to you.

Steve, Prague, Czech

I am very unconvinced that Ashton has been ousted because of age. I would be more convinced by the arguement that the consistency of England's performances and the question as to what really happened at the RWC (too many senior figures went on record to discount) led to the general lack of confidence at the RFU.

It is not often that I agree with Stuart Barnes and now is no exception. His view of the (rugby) world is warped by bitter memories and will always be so. For Wilkinson and Cipriani read Andrew and Barnes. No more needs to be said really.

John, Bracknell,

I am not quite certain why Barnes, Guscott and Jones seem to think that the yet-to-be appointed attack coach is an important issue. What, for example, could Catt et. al. teach Lewsey, Sackey or Cipriani that they have not already learned from two fairly well-known club and international coaches in the persons of Geech and Edwards?

David Mickey, Leatherhead, Surrey

And I thought the MIke Ruddock saga in Wales was shocking. This is ridiculous. When the WRU are looking more professional than the RFU it shows how things have changed. Johnson may prove to be an excellent appointment, but rugby (and myself) has always been proud of the spirit in which it is run, in stark contrast to football. However, no longer. I can't even see a Premier League football club treating a coach like this.

Ashton's time may have been up, but when human deceny is overlooked for the sake of (potential) success, the spirit of the game of rugby is long gone.

Chris Thomas, Fianarantsoa, Madagascar

Nice guy though he may be, Mr Ashton lacked that "quality of leadership" that a team needs to inspire them. I'm not sure exactly what that quality is - but most of us knew from day one that he did not have it. I'm surprised that this lack of a crucial attribute was not also evident to the experts who chose him.

Al, weybridge, UQ