England must keep tabs on Henry

When the curtain finally falls on the Six Nations, the RFU's real tough task begins as they seek to appoint a permanent head coach for the England national side.

But while it is who will fill the top position around which most speculation has mounted, there are other roles within the coaching hierarchy that are also vital. Those following the best rugby union betting need to remember this.

One man who would have done an excellent job as part of a new England coaching team is former New Zealand boss Graham Henry.

Henry went on record last year to say that he'd welcome an approach from the RFU, and it is staggering that they didn't take him up on his offer.

Recently he has been appointed to an advisory role by the Argentinian RU, and the South American nation's gain is definitely England's loss, for Henry would bring so much to any national set-up.

The former All-Blacks supremo has a winning mentality and is always striving to go bigger and better, even after tasting success.

He isn't somebody who'll let loyalties cloud his judgement and aims to select players based on their form, not reputation.

Henry is also a tough disciplinarian, but knows how to handle potentially volatile situations in a professional and diplomatic manner.

The calm and collected way in which he dealt with in-house issues during the 2011 World Cup, when New Zealand stars Cory Lane and Israel Dagg broke curfew, should have been food for thought for the English after the negative their own impact off-field problems had on performances during the tournament.

Henry is also a great talent spotter and has a proven track record of turning lesser-known players into stars.

Much like the great Sir Clive Woodward, the New Zealander is also an astute technician who is not too stubborn to learn from his own mistakes, as evidenced by the respective performances by the All Blacks in the 2007 and 2011 World Cups.

That Henry has been snapped up by Argentina is a real shame for England, particularly when you consider that he'd expressed an interest in a role at Twickenham, but if the RFU have any sense then they'll be monitoring the 65-year-old's situation in Argentina very closely indeed.