A departing coach who thinks his players will mourn his absence for years has forgotten one of life's certainties. Even within English rugby's modest-sized parish no man is irreplaceable and, when the elite players train together for the first time in the post-Clive Woodward era on Monday, some will be feeling happier than they have in ages.

This is not to decry Woodward's contribution to the national squad over seven years, simply to highlight that most enticing of managerial tools: the clean slate. With the selector-in-chief Woodward gone and the coaching panel in a state of limbo, entry to Twickenham's inner sanctum is tantalisingly back up for grabs.

To be fair, no one appreciates this more than Woodward. In a rare quiet moment between book signings he even acknowledged this week he used to favour certain players whenever there was a tight selectorial call. Such throwaway lines will cause the odd Celtic eyebrow to arch skywards in a Lions season but England's fringe candidates will be suitably encouraged.

Take, for example, the Sale wingers Mark Cueto and Steve Hanley, both absent from Woodward's pre-season squad of 60. Cueto has a better try-scoring rate for his club than Jason Robinson while Hanley, before last night, had the extraordinary record of 68 tries from 101 league starts. Woodward had reservations about both, specifically Hanley's defence and Cueto's attitude, but the powerful pair have made significant strides of late.

Then there is Phil Greening, once England's pre-eminent hooker and still only 28. Now thankfully back from a worrying foot injury, there will be an extra spring in his step this autumn. The same goes for Austin Healey. True, Andy Robinson has worked closely with Woodward but he might extend more olive branches than his former colleague was inclined to do.

While Woodward preferred to take his lead from the legendary old New York baseball manager Casey Stengel - "The key to being a good manager is keeping the people who hate you away from those who are still undecided" - it is also Robinson's job (while the RFU twiddles its thumbs on his permanent appointment) to take a fresh look at the Premiership and identify not just the born-again England candidates but the new coming men.

As a former flanker himself, he will be particularly keen to get his back-row combination right. Richard Hill and Joe Worsley should be certainties, with Worsley established as the best tackler in the Premiership. But ever since Neil Back was sidelined and Lewis Moody injured, England have lacked a natural-born, ball-sniffing flanker, someone who can unnerve opponents, hurtle to the breakdowns and generally act like a Jack Russell down a rabbit hole.

Happily there is a potential glut of talented, young English loose forwards on the horizon. The only problem, according to Jon Callard, who coached England's Under-21 grand slam-winning team last season, is that several are still physically a season or so away from full maturity. Callard is full of praise for Sale's Magnus Lund, Leicester's Will Skinner and the Wasps pair Tom Rees and James Haskell, but is cautious about throwing any of them straight into Test rugby. "In this summer's Under-21 World Cup the physical shape of the New Zealanders compared with our guys was miles apart. Skill-wise there's not a lot of difference but a good big 'un will always beat a good small 'un. These guys need time."

With that in mind Robinson will be glad to hear Moody hopes to return soon, if not quickly enough to be a realistic contender for the Canada game on November 13. Any one of Chris Jones, Martin Corry, Hugh Vyvyan or James Forrester, meanwhile, could fill Lawrence Dallaglio's No8 jersey. Or the management could venture into left field and pick someone like Northampton's Darren Fox who, at 23, fits the bill of young, thrusting contender to perfection. Fox almost abandoned professional rugby to join the fire service after two serious knee injuries but could shortly be hammering on England's door.

"He's a player of enormous talent and potential," confirms his Saints coach Alan Solomons, "He's very hard, abrasive and committed and I believe he has every prospect of playing international rugby."

Ah, what an easy game selection is. For years Woodward has kept a poem entitled The Indispensable Man in his wallet and is now urging a major shake-up for the November Tests. This rather begs the question as to why he himself did not act more decisively during last season's Six Nations.

Scrum-half will be another big call with Matt Dawson and Andy Gomarsall under attack from the 22-year-old Tigers' No9 Harry Ellis. "He's an incredible talent and I think if he was picked in a Test tomorrow he'd do a great job for England against any opposition," insists Pat Howard, Ellis's coach at Leicester.

And on it goes. Newcastle's Jamie Noon must be pushing Mike Tindall hard. Besides Cueto and Hanley, there are fliers like Paul Sackey, Ugo Monye, Dan Scarbrough and Michael Stephenson to consider if Josh Lewsey's broken hand mends slowly - not to mention gifted teenagers such as Newcastle's Matthew Tait and Leeds' David Doherty, whose footwork reminds Callard of Jason Robinson. And do not forget Jonny Wilkinson. English supporters, it seems, simply need to be patient.

Equally, no newly selected players this autumn should get too carried away. Woodward, for his first Test, against Australia in 1997, famously fielded five new caps. Of that quintet - David Rees, Matt Perry, Andy Long, Will Green and Will Greenwood - only Greenwood was still a front-line contender when the coach stepped down. The new wave of England players are embarking on a long and winding road.