Fear strikes early and four pay for it

The scramble to avoid the trapdoor out of the Zurich Premiership has claimed its first victims. Northampton and Wasps, two clubs who have been accustomed to success in the six years of the open era, reacted this week to the spectre of relegation by relieving four coaches of their duties. At Northampton, at least two players will be following their forwards coach, Colin Deans, and defensive strategist, Andy Goodway, through the exit door, with a new head coach on the way in.

Northampton's ground, Franklin's Gardens, looks as pretty as a picture after the opening of two new stands, but the re-building is not confined to the stadium. A public flotation earlier this year has increased the pressure on the eight-man board, chaired by long-time benefactor Keith Barwell, to get things right on the field. Earlier this month, John Steele, the director of rugby, presented to the board a shortlist for the role of first-team coach, a task he previously conducted himself.

Wayne Smith, the coach of New Zealand for the last two years until he resigned and was succeeded by John Mitchell, is among several candidates from both home and overseas who have been interviewed on site. Steele is also acting to shake up a 38-man playing squad who face today's Premiership match at London Irish in a precarious third from bottom place in the table. The bottom team will go down in May and, despite the help of a "golden parachute" of ?750,000 to soften the landing in National Division One, most Premiership clubs take the view that relegation means liquidation.

"We have been talking about these changes since the start of the season," Steele said. "Every club is different. In some cases the director of rugby handles contract reviews and new contracts; in others, that is carried out by a chief executive. I found I was spending about 30 per cent of my time in coaching, and you can only put a certain amount of time into each task. I'm at every training session but coaching a player has a lot more to it than that."

A telephone call to Barwell's office on Thursday got the response: "He's out, shooting." It turned out to be a day of sporting pursuits, but a public statement put out by the chairman earlier in the week, stating that two-thirds of the squad either lacked the necessary skills or were not giving enough commitment, had many ducking for cover. The players met with Steele on Tuesday to learn their fate. "We know that things are changing," said Nick Beal, who is now a senior squad member after 10 years at the club. "Nothing is going to happen within a week, so the guys have still got time to prove a point. But those who are worried probably know who they are."

A major figure to bolster the back five of the scrum is the target, though the Wallaby great, John Eales, while prominent in the rumour mill, recently insisted that he had a business career mapped out in Australia. Steele said that only "one or two" players would be cut immediately. One factor is the ?1.8 million annual salary cap. Even chopping a dozen players from the lower reaches of the Saints' squad would not cover a year's wages for the likes of Eales, although one way round that is to backload the new player's contract, making it worth far more in the second year.

It seems a long time since Northampton's Heineken Cup win, in May 2000. Despite chants of "there's only one Pat Lam" from some Northampton fans, Steele rejects the easy excuse that the departure of the Samoan No 8 along with elder statesmen Tim Rodber, Allan Bateman and Garry Pagel is all to blame. "We've got some very good senior players here," Steele said. "But, because of injuries, we have young players in the team who have never been in that position. We've got a great academy but they need nursing." Beal, who has not captained a team since school, leads the side today in the absence of Matt Dawson and Budge Pountney (both injured) and John Leslie, who is away with Scotland.

Wasps' state appears even more parlous, and they have dispensed with Gareth Rees and John Lambden, respectively the backs and forwards coaches. "No one likes to take this kind of action, but the future of the club is the only thing I am concerned about," said their director of rugby, Nigel Melville. Even Gloucester, despite a healthy league position, are not immune to turmoil. Top international players Ian Jones, Jason Little and Alessandro Stoica have come and gone in the space of 18 months; the New Zealander outside-half, Simon Mannix, left this week. Rumours persist that the club's locally-born "old guard" would be happy to see the back of the French coach, Philippe Saint-André.

Steele has, for the second season running, seen Northampton fail to make it through the pool stage in Europe, after home and away defeats by Montferrand, and a particularly disappointing loss at Cardiff. "There's a fine margin between winning and losing in the Premiership," said Beal, and Steele agrees that the Premiership also-rans of a couple of seasons ago have improved their standards.

He wants the new coach to be in place by December, when there is a demanding programme of four Premiership matches and a National Cup tie. "I am excited for Northampton's future," said Steele, "in terms of our players, and our facilities. But there is a lot of hard work ahead of us."