Martin Johnson's time as England manager – in pictures

Before taking over the national side, Martin Johnson was the first England captain to lift the Webb Ellis Cup after beating hosts Australia in the 2003 World Cup final Photograph: David Rogers/Getty Images

Despite Brian Ashton leading England to a second consecutive World Cup final in 2007, Johnson was brought in as his replacement following the 2008 Six Nations. Here Johnson is pictured with the RFU elite performance director Rob Andrew Photograph: David Davies/PA

Although Johnson did not go on the summer tour to New Zealand, his first task as manager was to deal with player discipline. Full-back Mike Brown and wing Topsy Ojo were fined and given misconduct reprimands for their behaviour following a night out. England lost both Tests heavily Photograph: David Rogers/Getty Images

Johnson took the reins for the autumn internationals, with Danny Cipriani scoring 19 points as a new-look England side swept five tries past the Pacific Islanders in a 39-13 win ... Photograph: David Rogers/Getty Images

... but results went downhill after the manager's first match. Three successive defeats followed, against Australia, South Africa and here to New Zealand Photograph: David Davies/PA

Johnson's first Six Nations in 2009 was a mixed one. England beat Italy, France and Scotland ... Photograph: Tom Jenkins/Guardian

... but suffered defeats to Wales and grand-slam winners Ireland Photograph: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

England ended the 2009 autumn internationals with two defeats (Australia and New Zealand) and one win (Argentina) but there was a worrying lack of progress, especially going forward Photograph: Tom Jenkins/Guardian

The 2010 Six Nations was another mixed bag. Johnson's side opened with victories over Wales and Italy, but did not win another match Photograph: Tom Jenkins/Guardian

One of the highlights of Johnson's tenure was the back-to-back wins over Australia later that year. Here the manager instructs his players ahead of the 21-20 victory in Sydney, their first over a Tri-Nations team for three years ... Photograph: David Rogers/Getty Images

... England then completed the double at Twickenham in November. Chris Ashton scored a try in each half of the 35-18 win, the second a 90m dash to the line for one of the great Twickenham scores Photograph: DYLAN MARTINEZ/Reuters

At the 2011 Six Nations, Johnson's squad clicked, recording four wins from their first four games ... Photograph: Tom Jenkins/Guardian

... defeat to Ireland denied England the grand slam. Still, eight points, 13 tries and the joint-best defence in the championship was enough to give them a first Six Nations title since 2003 Photograph: ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/Getty Images

Attentions then turned to the World Cup. Johnson's side arrived in New Zealand quietly confident but things soon began to unravel ... Photograph: David Rogers/Getty Images

Off-field controversies dogged their campaign. Mike Tindall, pictured here, along with Chris Ashton, James Haskell and Manu Tuilagi were all disciplined for incidents which undermined Johnson's leadership Photograph: David Rogers/Getty Images

After a series of unconvincing performances in the pool stage, England fell in their first knockout match, losing 19-12 to France in the quarter-finals Photograph: Jacky Naegelen/Reuters

The manager's future has been up in the air ever since, with the RFU conducting a series of reviews into the ill-fated campaign. But Johnson has now decided to walk away from the role after three and a half years in charge. His record: 21 wins, 16 defeats and one draw Photograph: David Rogers/Getty Images