Wilkinson is No.1 choice

Wilkinson, who needed surgery to solve neck and shoulder problems in February, has helped guide Newcastle to the top of the Zurich Premiership. An official announcement is due next month, shortly after Robinson's full-time appointment is rubber stamped by Rugby Football Union chiefs.

While the official announcement of Dawson's removal from the squad last night included a pledge from the scrumhalf to win back his place, senior England players expressed their amazement at the handling of the affair.

One said: "The dates for the agreed release periods only came out a couple of weeks ago and Matt had something already in the diary.

"You would have thought Robinson could have had a quiet word with Matt and told him to sort things out so that it doesn't happen again rather than getting rid of him in this very public way.

"It appears to be a bit of a shambles and reminds me of the time All Blacks coach John Mitchell dropped Christian Cullen. You have to manage these things properly or else it can lead to other problems." Dawson said: "Obviously, I am disappointed but I understand and respect Andy's decision. I will be working hard to earn my place back. I have a long-standing commitment that I simply can't reverse."

Wasps, now that Dawson and Dallaglio are both out of the Elite squad, might be accused of only being interested in looking after their own house rather than thinking about the national cause. It's a charge Sean Edwards, the Wasps coach, rejects. He said: "There isn't a club in the Premiership more committed to helping England than London Wasps.

"When we went looking for a new player at scrum-half, unlike many other clubs, we didn't go abroad - we signed Matt Dawson of England." Meanwhile, Harlequins have hit back at claims by Rob Andrew, the Newcastle director of rugby, that the London club tried to kill the game between the teams on Sunday by constantly standing offside.

Mark Evans, the Harlequins chief executive, is Andrew's opposite number and he believes it is just another case of the former England No10 speaking without thinking.

Evans, whose team have now gone three games without a win, said: "My message to Rob is - talk about your own side, mate, it's much more interesting. Rob always does this.

"The fact is that we outscored them two tries to one and the one they got was a penalty try that should not have been awarded. Yes, we are bottom but there isn't any kind of crisis and the performance at Newcastle was the best of our three so far."