Those are the appointments elite rugby director Andrew has been charged with making and the management board will ratify them at the start of next month.
It appears the only way Ashton can remain in his job is for Johnson to turn down the job. That will happen if the former Leicester skipper is not given assurances about the power he will have.
Pointedly, the management board statement backing Andrew's initial discussions with Johnson made no mention of Ashton or his Six Nations achievements and this was a significant snub at a time when the head coach is starting to believe that he is being marginalised.
The statement said: "The management board accepted Rob Andrew's interim report, and was unanimous in authorising him to continue the discussions currently under way to strengthen the England team structure through the recruitment of a team manager and an additional specialist coach.
"Recommendations on these appointments will be made to a Club England meeting in early April, who will then make final recommendations to the RFU management board."
