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Stuart Lancaster has been taking advice and soundings from all sorts of people - including Gary Neville - as he prepares to take charge of England in the Six Nations. But the one person who might have assisted him most has instead given "help" of a very different kind.

It was an open secret that Sir Clive Woodward quite fancied going back to the RFU in the fall-out from a disastrous World Cup campaign. He didn't get the gig, and so he's chosen to have a sly dig at Lancaster instead. Sir Clive has suggested that former PE teacher Lancaster is "lucky" to have been put in charge, and that he "has a lot to prove" about his ability to do the job.

It all smacks of sour grapes. The truth is that nobody gets put in charge of a national team without a bit of luck on the way. There would be arguments that Woodward himself, despite a stellar playing career that included two British Lions tours, had an element of fortune when he was first made England coach. He was certainly lucky to keep the job after a very average first World Cup campaign in South Africa in 1999. Without the backing of the RFU then he might never have had the time to achieve his triumph four years later. We'll find out this summer just how lucky he was to be made the British Olympics Association's director of elite performance.

Lancaster has been trusted with temporary charge of the England team because he's worked hard, not because he's been lucky. He's shown his potential with the good work he's done with the Saxons, and if that meant he was in the right place at the right time then that's how life works.

It's easy to look at the injury list that will confront him at the start of the Six Nations and be concerned for England's chances of retaining the Six Nations trophy. But then everybody gets injuries. Scotland coach Andy Robinson has been forced to name hooker Ross Ford as his captain because Saracens flanker Kelly Brown has been ruled out of the entire campaign.

Lancaster has brought the players down to earth with a training week in Leeds rather than the sunshine of Portugal. And he took another step yesterday to imposing the right values on a new look squad by sitting down with his key players and agreeing a code of conduct for England duty. It covers everything from drinking to meeting agents during squad weeks.

"The biggest thing for us is making sure the culture is right, and making sure that nothing but rugby is our focus," said Leicester scrum half Ben Youngs. And given the depth of players available to Lancaster you can't help but feel if he gets those basics right then the rest can follow.

England are now 1.76 to start the campaign by winning the Calcutta Cup, but the real value remains the 5.2 for them to retain the Six Nations crown.

What was it Napoleon said? "I'd rather have a lucky general than a good one". If that's how Lancaster turns out, then who would be complaining?

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