Stuart Who? Stuart Lancaster I hear some of you say? Yes, that's right, Stuart Lancaster is the new England rugby head coach, albeit on an interim basis before the RFU make a full-time appointment for the three-test summer tour of South Africa.
The world expects a big name coach to then come in, someone like Nick Mallett or Wayne Smith or Jake White or Eddie Jones. But hold on a minute. Let's just think about this. Lancaster knows all but the old guard players at England, most if not all of whom will be out in any case, very, very well, having nurtured them through junior ranks and Saxons teams over the years.
He is a school teacher type coach, just as Arsene Wenger in football and Graham Henry in rugby is. He is also a good man, who knows right from wrong on and off the pitch. I'll give you an example. I bumped into him in an Auckland hotel foyer at the World Cup. He had no official role with England but came down under to observe, to look and to learn.
I get the feeling no stone is left unturned with him. Under him the party is over for those players whose eye went off the ball. He has also read my book, "Playgrounds of the Gods," by the way, so that immediately puts him in my good books.
On that subject his right hand men are old "playing" friends of mine. Graham Rowntree played his part in welcoming me (nicely off the pitch, not so nicely on it) when I joined him and the likes of Martin Johnson, Neil Back et al to play in a one-off game for the Tigers.
I can vouch that the players, to a man, respect him for what he achieved as a 54-time England prop, and is highly regarded as a coach who has already been at two world cups and a Lions tour. He will be itching to go now to prove himself as an international forwards coach.
Alongside him Andy "Faz" Farrell will also underline his immense talent. Faz, for those who forget, was the Martin Johnson of rugby league in every sense. His union playing career was hardly shabby - he did play for England, after all - but we never saw the best of him due to long-term injuries and a switching of positions.
When I joined Wigan for a week to play against St Helens Faz became one of my "mentors," taking time out to offer me invaluable advice about the forthcoming game. Grounded, just like Lancaster and Rowntree, he will command respect and insist on the right methods.
So am I being biased? I don't think so. I believe that England are not far off a decent team, will have much to prove and will be desperate to put wrongs right. They will also be forced to be utterly professional under the new regime which may well surprise those who are waiting simply for the big appointments to be made.
These words may come back to bite me but don't be too surprised if a successful 2012 Six Nations will make the RFU think again about their long-term national team management. After a long dark winter of discontent the first, premature shoots of spring may just have appeared for English rugby.
