I TAKE no great pleasure from this, but I would like to point out that last week's column successfully predicted that Steve Harmison would start his Ashes series with a wide.

Admittedly, I went for the leg side rather than the off but, given the rustiness he displayed in the recent Champions Trophy, it was hardly a massive surprise to see England's leading strike bowler struggling for form.

What was a massive surprise, however, was that no-one in the England camp had spotted the potential for disaster.

No England side has ever travelled to Australia with a bigger collection of coaches, dieticians and psychologists yet, paradoxically, no England side has ever looked as ill prepared for the start of a series Down Under.

Harmison's problems were merely the tip of a considerable iceberg that had sunk the tourists' hopes of a first-Test success within the opening three sessions.

The complacency started at the top - Duncan Fletcher deeming two three-day warm-up games sufficient preparation for one of the most eagerly-awaited tours of all time - and seeped through to every member of the England party.

Bowling coach Kevin Shine spent Tuesday attempting to correct the technical flaws that have been evident in Harmison's action for the best part of a year.

Goodness only knows why he hadn't thought of doing something about it before England's most potent bowling weapon was subjected to the kind of public humiliation that could take months to recover from.

Maybe it's just me, but I would have thought a bowling coach should have been coaching his bowlers in the run-up to the first Test rather than after it.

But Shine was not alone in his laissez faire approach. Skipper Andrew Flintoff has admitted that a number of his team-mates froze in the early stages of that fateful first day at Brisbane.

Surely part of the job of being captain is to spot such an eventuality and attempt to address it.

Flintoff's personality meant he was never going to suffer from rabbit in the headlights syndrome - although in terms of his batting efforts, he might as well have done - but the skipper should have realised that most of his team-mates did not share his natural confidence.

They needed preparing for what was likely to lie in wait - instead, they were thrown in at the deep end and expected to keep their heads above water.

The upshot, of course, was that England suffered a demoralising defeat that has left them facing an uphill battle in their attempts to hold on to the Ashes.

Yet almost all of the fall-out from the first Test has centred around Harmison. There has been a clamour for him to be left out of the side for this week's second Test in Adelaide and some are even suggesting that the 'Ashington Express' be sent home to recuperate.

Nothing would please the Australians more.

If England are going to level the series, they are going to have take 20 wickets over the next five days. They are unlikely to do so without their leading strike bowler and, despite posting figures of 1-177 at the Gabba, that is exactly what Harmison remains.

He should be given every opportunity to bowl himself into some sort of a rhythm because, without him, England's bowling attack would be a sorry state of affairs indeed.

with Andy Robinson having finally walked the plank yesterday, English rugby finds itself at yet another crossroads.

Robinson's departure was inevitable given the paucity of England's performances this autumn, but the failings of the head coach should not mask the failings of the RFU as a whole.

In particular, serious questions need to be asked about the all-pervasive influence of chief executive Francis Baron.

Despite his background in business, Baron had a major input in the appointment of Robinson as Sir Clive Woodward's successor in September 2004.

He was also an influential member of the review panel that decided to keep Robinson in place last summer, sacking Joe Lydon, Dave Alred and Phil Larder instead.

Both decisions were disastrous, yet Baron is still expected to have a key say in who now leads England to the 2007 World Cup.

Given his previous track record, it would surely be better to keep him out of the equation entirely.

While Sunday's showdown between Manchester United and Chelsea might not have settled anything, it could prove to have been a prescient predictor for what lies ahead.

United fly out of the traps and start brightly, only to be gradually worn down by Chelsea's power, athleticism and greater strength in depth.

It happened on Sunday and it could well happen again in terms of the course of the Premiership title race between now and May.

United might boast the silkiest skills but Chelsea can still rely on the mental fortitude of champions.