Andy Robinson faces the biggest challenge of his coaching career this week - and the consequences could be severe if he does not get it right.

England are world champions playing like world chumps at present, and a successful Webb Ellis Trophy defence next year appears way beyond head coach Robinson or his players.

England have not so much gone backwards in recent months, but got their once-imposing chariot stuck in reverse gear.

So where does the buck stop after their humiliating defeat against France in Paris?

Robinson must carry the can to a degree, but every player and all members of his sizeable backroom staff should take a long hard look at themselves.

If Robinson was an international soccer manager, it is reasonable to presume he would be one defeat away from the sack.

Much talk around the bars, restaurants and coffee shops of central Paris on Sunday night wondered whether he could actually handle Test rugby's high-octane environment and would perhaps be better suited returning to his assistant's role, pre-2003 World Cup.

The stark facts suggest he is struggling.

Since Robinson replaced World Cup mastermind Sir Clive Woodward more than 19 months ago, England have lost seven of their 15 Tests, while the 31-6 defeat against France represented a heaviest championship loss since Scotland claimed a 33-6 Calcutta Cup triumph 20 years ago.

To point the finger at Robinson alone though, is unfair.

He might be a conservative selector and possibly relies too much on rugby's basic rudiment - forward power - for success, but collective responsibility must be assumed.

Far too many England players are woefully out of form - step forward Josh Lewsey, Mike Tindall and Lewis Moody, to name three - while there appears no structure or obvious game-plan, all compounded by a lack of decisive on-field leadership.

England were a sorry shambles at Stade de France from first minute to last, and despite the French scoring all their tries as a direct result of opposition blunders, there is no excusing failed execution when it came to basic skills such as catching, kicking and passing.

You have to wonder quite what England do all week at their luxurious training Surrey training base, and it has reached the point now whereby Robinson must say enough is enough and tell a few of his so-called superstars a few home truths.

Barely 24 hours before England's Paris debacle, Robinson said he had "total belief" in his team, but there can be no room for blind loyalty.

Triple Crown-chasing Ireland are next up at Twickenham, which would have been a severe examination even if England were not coming off the back of an abject, inept performance.

Turnaround time between games is short, yet at least England have an immediate chance to begin redressing the balance, rather than waiting for this summer's two-Test tour of Australia.

Their Six Nations Championship title hopes have effectively vanished for another season, so Robinson has to take the plunge, abandon a failed safety-first selection policy and reward players who just might bring a fresh, invigorated approach.

James Simpson-Daniel, Stuart Abbott, Shaun Perry and Tom Rees are all worthy contenders to face the Irish in some shape or form, so why not give them a go? They surely cannot be any worse than several far more established names currently running around like headless chickens in an England shirt.

Long-term - assuming there is a long-term for Robinson - he must address the coaching as a whole, and there needs to be some new blood taken Down Under in June.

Brian Ashton, the most innovative English backs coach around, has been mysteriously - and recklessly - ignored by England post-World Cup, but what is wrong with introducing two of the Guinness Premiership's brightest young coaches in Shaun Edwards and Paul Grayson?

An injection of new ideas and boundless enthusiasm is just what England require at present. There must be a shake-up, and if Robinson is to remain in charge, he has to develop a more open-minded philosophy.

The chances are he will go through to the 2007 World Cup, but there will be those in Twickenham's corridors of power rapidly losing patience when they analyse the full deflating demise currently unfolding.

New Zealand, under Graham Henry's astute direction, have effectively developed two first XVs on the road to next year's World Cup, and such astounding strength in depth commands admiring, envious glances from all their main rivals.

But how would Henry have known about players such as James Ryan, Chris Masoe, Nic Evans and Sione Lauaki in a Test-match environment unless he was prepared to give them their chance?

Robinson must take a leaf out of the Henry book in that respect, because if he says same-again and his team experience another debilitating defeat next weekend, a few chapters could suddenly close on England careers.