Martin Johnson the Man to Take England Forward? Im Not Asking the Sheep!

Article first published as Martin Johnson the Man to take England Forward? I'm Not Asking the Sheep! on Technorati.

Well that’s me and Sonny Wool feeling a bit sheepish about our predictions! At least only one of us claims to be psychic though.

Martin Johnson made all the right noises in the pre-match press conferences. Words like “Potential”,  phrases like “moving in the right direction” and “showing improvement”. However the England team blew all of my cautious optimism out of the window with a pitiful display against the French. We had made a positive start in not having given a penalty away within the first 7 minutes and having an attacking lineout on the French 5 metre line. Thompson missed his jumper and things spiralled downhill from there.

                                             

So the post-mortem begins. Rob Andrew stated that there will be a review. Quite who is left at the RFU to complete such a review was a question left unanswered. The main point of debate will be if Johnson the man to carry England forward or if it time for him to go. The general consensus is that he should be replaced, however comparisons are being made to the Clive Woodward team of the 1999 World Cup and their exit at the hands of South Africa. We all know what happened at the next tournament.

My knee-jerk reaction was to for Johnson to go. I had mixed feelings about him getting the job in the first place having had absolutely no coaching experience at any level. However, I think he should be given chance to build on his experience. We should accept that he is probably the most inexperienced coach in world rugby and give him the opportunity to develop the team from what he has learned. Its not as if we are lacking in talent. We have players who certainly have the potential to be world class. I know, there is that word again...potential. I would give Johnson another two years. This should give him two Six Nations Championships and a handful of November internationals. Ample to time to show improvement. If we haven’t then there is time to find a suitable replacement for the next World Cup.

I would like to see the immediate retirement of the “old guard”. Thompson, Easter, Cueto, Tindall, Moody, Deacon and dare I say it...Wilkinson need to go. We need to identify young and exciting replacements and to develop a game plan that allows them to play without restriction. My suggestions? Hartley for hooker in the absence of any other viable replacement at present. Haskell to play as a dedicated 8 and not be bounced around the back-row because of his versatility. I’d have Sharples in for Cueto, a centre combination of Delon Armitage and Tuilagi and I would be looking for someone to challenge a second-row partnership of Lawes and Palmer. I don’t see Flood as the answer at 10 (or 12) and I expect to see Owen Farrell appearing in an elite squad in the near future. The choice of a specialist open-side flanker is more difficult. I’m a big fan of Tom Wood and Tom Croft but I’m not sure playing one of them out-of position is the answer.

We also need to identify a captain. The lack of clear leadership was a recurring theme during this World Cup. I would be tempted to follow the Welsh example of picking a young leader. Sam Warburton is only 23 but has had a huge impact of his squad and looks like developing into an immense player. The level of respect he is commanding from players and fans at such a young age can only be positive for Wales’ future.

                                    

I am hugely disappointed that England are out of the World Cup, however if we had managed to snatch the game from France it would have been tantamount to daylight robbery. I can sit back and enjoy the rugby on offer in the semi-finals and onwards. I wonder if Sonny Wool has made his predications yet....?

Dwarf Throwing and a Psychic Sheep.

I was wary of the Argentineans and we ground them down (eventually). I was slightly wary of the Scots (they have spoiled the English party more than once in the past) and we ground them down too. But for a handful of missed kicks from the normally metronomic  Jonny Wilkinson neither result would have been in doubt. You do have to question what the reason is for his poor form. The guy has a kick conversion rate of less than 50% in this competition. And he is one of the best kickers in the world. However, so is Morne Steyn the South African, and he is in the high 80%’s.

I think we will be victorious against the French (and not because Sonny Wool the psychic sheep has predicted an England win) however I think it will be a similar game to that against the Scots. I know the French appear to be in meltdown at the moment but everybody raises their game to play the English and they will be no exception.

The other quarter-finals should also produce some exciting rugby. I’m tipping the Irish to have a little too much for the Welsh, The South Africa-Australia game is too difficult to call as I haven’t seen much of the Wallabies, and The All Blacks will cruise past Argentina even without Dan Carter.

I hope that after the next round of matches England will make the headlines for their rugby instead of their off-field indiscretions....although the dwarf-throwing jokes were quite amusing. Despite all this I have been impressed with Johnson’s handling of the media in these situations. I am willing to bet he has handed out a few gale-force bollockings over the last couple of weeks. The on-field disciplinary stuff has been a bit suspect in my point of view. The citing of Armitage and Lawes for foul play is one thing but to fine Tuilagi nearly £5000 for wearing a branded gum-shield?! This is rugby...not football.

I still have concerns about some of Johnson’s team selections, particularly at centre, second row and back row but overall we seem to be moving in the right direction. Replication of some of the running lines shown against Romania (yes I know it was a weakened team of a Tier 2 Nation) and some continued dynamism from the pack and we should have the French going backwards.

I have been fortunate enough to watch the majority of the pool games and its is very encouraging to see the gap between the “smaller” rugby playing nations and the big boys reducing. Teams like Samoa, Tonga, Georgia, Japan and Canada have been putting in some cracking performances and some really enjoyable rugby. I sincerely hope the IRB has plans to support the developing nations. The inclusion of a Plate competition to run alongside the latter stages of the World Cup is gathering a number of supporters in the press and I would love to see this take place. In addition I would like to see a second division of the Six Nations Championship with promotion and relegation. I know they would be seen as the whipping boys but looking back, the French did not win a 5 Nations game for a number of years and the same for Italy in the 6 Nations. Developing the game globally cannot be a bad thing. It is the “World in Union” after all.

Incidentally Sonny Wool predicted wins for Ireland, New Zealand and South Africa.