Strife of Brian - Ashton could be out despite big win over the Irish

The RFU's 14-man management board will determine his fate in 10 days amid calls from senior officials for a new coaching team led by Jake White and Eddie Jones, who led South Africa to their World Cup Final triumph over England.

For the second time in three months, Ashton's job hangs on a review carried out by Twickenham's director of elite rugby Rob Andrew, who has been asked to complete his findings as a matter of urgency.

Ashton, 61, was re-appointed last December on a one-year rolling contract along with assistants John Wells and Mike Ford after a two-month internal inquiry headed by Andrew.

Despite the crushing 33-10 win at Twickenham, Ashton is still under fire from certain board members who question his selection and motivational skills.

Ashton, who hopes to take England to New Zealand in June for two Tests, said: "People are constantly questioning you. That's the way things are. The pressure is there every single game.

"The relief is for the players, that they have finally shown in front of their home crowd that they can perform. They have not had the full rewards for their hard work, partly through their fault, partly through ours. Their frustration will be that they let the Wales game slip away but that's sport at the top level."

England captain Phil Vickery said: "Brian's come in for a lot of criticism. Some of the things that have been said about him have been pretty horrific. Brian's a proud man and he cares about this England team. I can't explain why it seems to take something pretty drastic, like playing the way we did at Murrayfield, for us to perform at the necessary level."

Should the RFU do an embarrassing U-turn by ditching Ashton, their team could be under the command of the two coaches on the opposite side when South Africa beat England 15-6 in the World Cup Final last October — White, out of a job since then, and Australian Jones, due to start work at the end of this season as director of rugby at Saracens.

Shaun Edwards, who rejected Andrew's offer of a part-time role coaching England's second string to renew his triumphant alliance with Warren Gatland in Wales, is negotiating separate contracts with Wasps and Wales to run through to the next World Cup in 2011.