In the past week, France have appointed 63-year-old Jacques Brunel, Worcester have brought in 67-year-old Alan Solomons and 70-year-old Alan Gaffney has joined Northampton. Maybe I should get back involved. They are all in my age group. We talk about the game being results-driven. I hope it does not get like football and I do not think it will, but the first person you look at in difficult situations is the coach.

Northampton went off the boil. Jim Mallinder had done such a good job for 10 years, which is a very long time. Sometimes, clubs will shift players or coaches into a different position to keep them part of the same system. Rob Smith moved from head coach of Wasps and took over the academy. He had the experience to develop the young players coming through, such as Danny Cipriani and James Haskell.

However, Northampton and Worcester have taken similar approaches, bringing in an experienced coach to oversee what is there. They are getting somebody with experience for what feels like a six-month appointment, and he will almost be mentoring the existing coaches. If they get the coaching balance right, the immediate knock-on effect to the players will be positive.

That is what Northampton need, a fresh eye – not huge change, more a slight redirection. An outside influence can help in that way. There is an excitement that regenerates things before they look for a long-term director of rugby in the summer.

Similarly at Worcester, Carl Hogg is a good coach who will need a sounding board or some suggestions. That is important so things can be refined for players and for coaches. It is the “boot room” approach, coaches and staff sharing ideas on all aspects of the game. I loved it and tended to do it on Thursday afternoons when the bulk of the week’s work was done. It would be over cream scones and tea at a nearby cafe – the thinking can be very left field, there are no constraints.

Mark McCall has been a big success at Saracens credit: Getty Images

Guy Noves had been with Toulouse for almost 30 years before taking on the France position. Toulouse had the right programmes to bring players through to the top. They had a chemistry and a style of play that reflected him and his character.

It might have been too late for him to take on an international position, but it shows the difference between how you can evolve balance and chemistry at club level and how difficult a challenge an international position can be.

In a way, that can be a reminder for Rob Baxter and Mark McCall – currently the Premiership’s two most successful coaches. Do you take that step up if the opportunity comes? If they have got their club environment right, should they move on?

Exeter have a group who have grown together. They understand one another’s game right the way through the team and are deservedly sitting comfortably at the top of the Premiership. There is a collective understanding from one to 15. They can accelerate the game, they can go through phases, they are very efficient with the ball and they keep teams under pressure.

They have probably learned a lot from the Leinster games. They were caught out at Sandy Park by the patience and intensity of Leinster. They did well in Dublin, but just could not keep it together for the 80 minutes. Europe is a good measure for any side and Exeter will see that as the next stage of their evolution.

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Baxter knows the club so well. He was a player who came through the area and he is an outstanding coach. He is very clear with what he wants and because of that, he gives very clear pictures for the players to follow.

Ali Hepher deserves credit, too. He has been given time under Baxter with Exeter – over eight years now.

I coached him at Northampton. He was a very good fly-half, good enough to play for England. Someone like that will understand the pace of a match, when to quicken things up and when to slow them down. Hepher could run a game, he could see space. Tactically, he was very astute and he was the hardest worker at Northampton. He was at the front whenever we did any running and always put himself in the best condition to produce the best rugby. Those traits are part of his make-up and the players will appreciate how much time he puts in.

We had great conversations. I found Gregor Townsend, who had some incredible ideas, to be the same when I coached him at Northampton and Scotland. You could talk about the wider concepts of what is possible in the game. Between Baxter and Hepher, all the bits and pieces will have been thought about. Their preparation will have covered everything that the players could encounter. In the end, a good team performance is based on clarity.

Saracens have achieved that under McCall, Exeter have achieved it under Baxter and you can see the level of rugby that can come out of that tactical and technical clarity.

Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend is brimming with ideas credit: Getty Images

Ali went to South Africa with the Saxons in 2016 and Rob toured South America with England three years before that. But it is difficult to know whether Rob would want to take on the England job after Eddie Jones finishes. What Exeter have got is very special. It is unique, and it has evolved over time.

The same could be said of Mark at Saracens. Even if you have created one successful environment, it is a different challenge to do that with an international team. I think both Rob and Mark would be wary. They would have to be 100 per cent sure that it is right for them.

The Premiership should be developing coaches who ultimately become international coaches. New Zealand have done it well. They have a large number of coaches dotted around the northern hemisphere and the intention will be, in three or four years’ time, that they come back and enhance what happens in New Zealand. All of their successful international coaches have spent significant time in the Northern Hemisphere.

There needs to be an understanding between the Premiership and the Rugby Football Union. That’s where the Championship could come into it, as well. There needs to be a joined-up process. When I came through, I was lucky. I had a club team, Headingley, who I coached as soon as I finished playing. I coached Scotland Under-20s, I coached Scotland B. Then I was an assistant coach to the Scotland team under Derrick Grant.

When I became head coach of Scotland, Jim Telfer was an assistant – so there was scope for mentoring, development and opportunity. Just as players develop through academies and the Premiership, there should be a parallel system for coaches to get to the very top.

We have some very good coaches around at the moment.