WillGreenwood

Nothing surprises me at the moment with English rugby, so I wasn't taken aback when Johnno announced his resignation. I would have loved him to stay, but if he believes that leaving was the right thing to do then I respect his judgement, as I always have done.

Looking at his replacement, I am a massive fan of Jim Mallinder and he would be my number one choice.

If Northampton fight to keep him - as I imagine they would - then I would go for an interim manager for the next couple of months while that is being negotiated. And the standout candidate for that would be Brendan Venter at Saracens. He could take the helm for what is an important period coming up, what with the Elite Performance Squad being announced in January.

There is now no chief executive, no elite performance director, and no manager at the RFU and a host of reviews. But I'm a glass half-full kind of person, so I believe that with a top CEO going in England will be well set for 2012.

I'm excited about the calibre of candidates applying for the CEO role. I can't go into detail, but I recently heard the name of someone who didn't even make the top five and that was very encouraging. There is every chance we will have the head of a FTSE 100 company in charge.

The Nigel Boardman review (expected to call for radical overhaul, including the appointment of an independent chairman) will genuinely get the 'turkeys voting for Christmas' in my mind. There will be a much clearer line of control in the leadership at the RFU.

On Martin Johnson's highs and lows

Highs: Winning away in Australia, Cardiff and Dublin were cracking performances. And the victory over the Wallabies in November had me jumping out of my seat; one of those great sporting moments.

Lows: The 15-15 draw with Scotland was a poor performance. Getting absolutely tonked for the first 25 minutes by Ireland, in the Grand Slam decider, stands out. Obviously the World Cup was a low. But I think not getting closer to New Zealand and South Africa last November, after smashing Australia, was a real disappointment for Johnno.