Six Nations - Oval Talk: When to act?

Eurosport - Wed, 04 Mar 16:45:00 2009

After a less than satisfactory start to Martin Johnson's managerial career, is it time the RFU started looking for alternatives to help turn England's fortunes round?

Martin Johnson - England - 0

The answer to the above depends on what expectations the RFU had ahead of appointing Johnson last April and how long they planned to give the former England captain to meet those expectations.

Johnson officially started his role on July 2, 2008 and after seven months in charge his record reads played seven, lost five, won two.

If you include the disastrous summer tour to New Zealand, which he did not attend because his wife was expecting their second child, then it is played nine, lost seven, won two.

Either way, it does not make for good reading.

But statistics do not always tell the whole story and some might argue that they should not be the only yardstick of achievement.

Look at the record of former head coach Brian Ashton, who resigned in protest when Johnson was appointed. Ashton lead England to the 2007 World Cup final and second place in last year's Six Nations. By current England standards that's a damn fine achievement. But still it was deemed unsatisfactory.

Why? Well, because the RFU and everyone with an opinion on England believed the team were not moving in the right direction; that the game-plan was muddled and that the coaching messages were not getting through to the players.

The last time England produced a result of note was against Ireland in their final game of the 2008 Six Nations. England beat Ireland 33-10 at Twickenham that day, with a certain Danny Cipriani at the helm.

It was also Ashton's final game in charge before the shocking treatment at the hands of the RFU forced him on to the dole queue. Clearly, it was not Ashton's record that resulted in his demise.

Incidentally, Ashton and his predecessor Andy Robinson won three of their first seven games, one more than Johnson, though one could argue that the latter has faced more challenging opposition.

So, if results are not the only tool by which England should be measured, what are the other criteria? Some will argue performance, a fairly vague term which cannot be measured and should take into account the introduction of new players and a clear plan designed to bring success at the next World Cup?

In truth, it has to be a combination of the two: results and performance. But to-date, England under Johnson have not come up to scratch on either count. One could almost accept a debit in the results ledger if the performances were pointing towards better days ahead.

That clearly is not the case. England's tactics in their last two games have been centred on spoiling opposition ball, and at all costs judging by the dreadful disciplinary record.

They may have scored two tries against Wales but both came against the run of play, while against Ireland their one touchdown came in the final minute when the game was already lost.

Some might argue that England had their chances to win both games, but that ignores the fact that Wales and Ireland were both markedly superior against a team intent on damage limitation.

As for Brian Smith, we have seen none of the attacking DNA that was so apparent in his teams while he was in charge at London Irish, which leads one to believe that he does not have a voice amongst the Leicester &lsquomafia' of Johnson, John Wells and Graham Rowntree.

At this stage of Johnson's tenure, there are very few positives, which is unfortunate in light of the sterling service he gave his country as a player.

England's disciplinary woes need little introduction, but it does imply that Johnson is unable to influence his squad in the way that Warren Gatland can with Wales.

There have been further question marks over Johnson's selections. Are Andy Goode and Toby Flood really the best fly-halves available to England? When is Dylan Hartley going to get a start at hooker? Does captain Steve Borthwick deserve his place in the second row? When is play-maker James Simpson-Daniel going to be given another chance? And what of Cipriani, England's saviour one moment and not even in the match-squad the next?

One has to assume that the RFU will give Johnson at least one year in charge. If that is the case, he has four games in which to salvage his job: two more in the Six Nations and the two-Test summer series with Argentina.

England were not in the best of shape when Johnson took over so many will rightly argue that he deserves longer than 12 months. But how much longer if things do not start to improve in the foreseeable future?

The RFU does not have a good recent record when it comes to dealing with coaches. They were unable to keep hold of World Cup winner and Grand Slam winner Sir Clive Woodward, Sean Edwards slipped through their fingers to carve out immediate success with Wales, and Ashton was publically humiliated before being replaced by someone with zero coaching experience.

Which brings us back to the original question: should the RFU start looking now for a replacement for Johnson?

One can think of two English candidates to replace Johnson, both former internationals with impressive coaching CVs and both currently in charge of Premiership clubs.

Maybe now is the time they should be sounded out about the possibility of taking on what is proving to be the poisoned chalice of international coaching jobs.

Terence O'Rorke / Eurosport

Comment 17 - 36 of 36

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  1. Again. He's not the coach.

    From Donald D, on Thu 5 Mar 7:47AM

  2. Yes the RFU should be looking for alternatives, they­ can start with finding competent replacements for­ themselves and Rob Andrew. Then the new board can­ consider where they are going, whether they want to­ continue letting MJ and friends continue to stifle the­ team or whether they want to act in the interests of­ the fans, the players and the game in general.

    From Mike, on Wed 4 Mar 8:53PM

  3. Martin Johnson has no experience as a coach. The RFU­ threw him in at the deep end. Would it not have been­ better to start him off as a forwards coach to get­ experience...seeing as there is more pressure as the­ head coach...he cant concentrate on his job...

    From andy k, on Wed 4 Mar 8:45PM

  4. Nice one Princey. The problem of forwards staying away­ from the breakdown, when they're defending, is not­ just an England problem. The image of Chunk Jacobson­ being left to chase Shane Williams to the try line at­ Murrayfield is still etched on my brain!!!! Didn't­ I also see Toby Flood packing down at open-side flanker­ at least once against Ireland? Let's get back to­ basics. Forwards fighting for possesion, even in­ defence, and backs being left to attack or defend the­ 3/4 line. France and Wales have won so much turnover­ ball by using the front 5 where they belong, it's­ about time the other nations wised up!

    From John L, on Wed 4 Mar 8:30PM

  5. I am afraid england have not got good enough players in­ key positions, due in some part to injury. However the­ pack is the largest problem; how often do we see front­ or 2nd rowers as first receiver from the breakdown­ instead of rucking/mauling to ensure quick ball for the­ backs. In addition it must be said englands half backs­ are not as good as people think, they might get there­ given experience!
    MJ has also inherited the coaching­ team, if they weren't up to the job under previous­ coaches why are they still there?

    Princey

    From richard.prince2, on Wed 4 Mar 7:17PM

  6. they are no standout leaders in the current England­ team,if things are going wrong on the pitch ,where are­ the lieutenants let alone a captain!

    From bozz, on Wed 4 Mar 6:37PM

  7. Every team in the six nations is guilty of playing­ ariel ping pong this year, to either get themselves out­ of their own half, or in the hope that the opposition­ will fumble.I'm loath to suggest even more­ rules,but it seems the new laws have brought this­ boring spectacle into the game I love.As for dirty and­ foul play, not many players can play 80 mins without­ infringing. So the sooner all this name calling comes­ to an end the better. Good luck Wales, yahoo seems to­ be ignoring us this week! Good luck Italy, but I fear­ you will be subjected to a backlash by a Welsh team.

    From pajulu, on Wed 4 Mar 4:28PM

  8. So long as the England players insist on playing the­ silly kicking game and giving possession to the­ opposition then we are going to suffer. The basis of­ rugby is that you have to have the ball to be on the­ winning side. Without the ball you are on a loser. If­ Johnson could instil that one piece of rugby logic into­ players who should, in theory, already be well aware of­ it, then we stand a chance of going somewhere. ­ Players, like Ricky Flutey, giving away a soft penalty­ by trying to damage O'Driscoll, should be left out­ of the next match or two until they understand that­ their antics are not acceptable. Players should be­ made more aware of whose around them when running with­ the ball. Tait's breakthrough was a try in the­ making if only he had been aware of the other player­ running alongside him. Instead we give it away with a­ penalty. This is the Brian Smith thing. He should be­ given a greater role in promoting good attacking rugby,­ whilst the defence, in line with the way we played­ against Wales, should be its twin. Kiredor. south­ Wales.

    From Roderick, on Wed 4 Mar 1:19PM

  9. Drop everyone who gets a yellow card for the next­ match.

    Johnson has no experience and is relying too­ much on the Leicester Mafia. When will we see any­ attacking nous from the team?

    Tom Rees is the­ outstanding number 7 in the country and should be­ captain when he returns.

    Croft should start at 6

    And­ can people please stop saying that if O'gara had­ kicked the penalties the scoreline would have been far­ worse. How do you know that? If he had kicked the­ penalty then the game would have restarted from the­ halfway line and not the 22, it would have been a­ completely game

    From basil_feilding, on Wed 4 Mar 12:29PM

  10. England's problems in recent years all stem from­ not having a decent leader on the field. The current­ captain is failing as a leader and a player, just as­ Corry had under Ashton. Surely there must be one­ English player who has the makings. My biggest­ critisism of Johnson is that he can't seem to find­ that player and he is persisting with Borthwick. who­ isn't good enough to play let alone be captain.

    From John L, on Wed 4 Mar 12:26PM

  11. Seam to me this site is devoted to england what about­ the winners in this comp.
    Who cares if england wins­ anyway as long as there is good rugby played.
    Stop­ Yahoo sport being Bias and talk about all of the teams­ england are losers
    .
    Get a grip you english and take­ your medicine.

    From Robert, on Wed 4 Mar 12:18PM

  12. Nick Mallet!!!!! are you mad

    From cartman, on Wed 4 Mar 10:58AM

  13. Get Jake White or Nick Mallet thats what England needs,­ a real coach

    From Papa Spyk, on Wed 4 Mar 10:12AM

  14. All of England's current problems ultimately point­ to a total lack of leadership on the field. Compare it­ to the 2003 squad where there were, arguably 5 real­ leaders of men in the same team (Johnston, Back,­ Dallaglio, Wilkinson and Greenwood). All of these were­ not only great players but influencers that other­ players looked to for inspiration. Sadly, of the­ current crop not 1 stands out with the right­ credentials - Borthwick is most definitely not the­ answer and neither is Tindall. Of all his problems­ Johnston needs to find the answer to this one first!

    From Douglas R, on Wed 4 Mar 3:02AM
  15. Comment hidden due to it's low rating. Show

    nick 17, u r talking about it so that wud mak u an­ idiot, and u r watchin eurosport as wel, so that must­ mak u a bigger idiot. if u dont lik wat u r watching­ TURN IT OVER

    From aiden_molloy, on Tue 3 Mar 11:20PM

  16. Perhaps they should not believe all their own hype!! I­ believe it was they who claoured for Johnson to be­ brought in (despite having no coaching experience­ anywhere), they that shouted to world that Cipriani is­ the saviour (despite evidence otherwise), they that­ said Brian Smith was the best attacking coach­ around.......

    From RichardandRobyn, on Tue 3 Mar 10:01PM

  17. The changes I think Johnson should make if hes to­ survive;
    Steve Borthwick stripped of captaincy, because­ thats the only thing keping him in the starting­ lineup,
    Mike Tindall made captain
    J Simpson Daniel­ drafted back in
    Olly Morgan to replace (when fit) the­ limited delon armitage
    steffon armitage to be brought­ back into the startin XV (anyone who watches the­ premiership should agree he is the outstandin number­ 7)
    Topsey Ojo to replace mark cueto
    Olly Barkley to­ replace Rikki Flutey
    Cipriani to replace Toby Flood at­ 10
    ALL PLAYERS WHO HAVE MOVED TO OVERSEAS TO BE­ DROPPED

    Im a welsh fan, totally despise englands­ current and recent involvments in rugby matches, but­ for the good of rugby AND the Lions, which can only­ succeed if England have a good side, I think the above­ should be implemented.

    Plus, Paul Sackey to be rested­ from england duty to recapture the sublime form he has­ shown

    From moggie2727, on Tue 3 Mar 7:40PM

  18. What I don't understand is how the articles on­ here, the television, radio, everywhere! immediately­ after the Ireland game were all saying the same thing:­ England lost because of certain players'­ ill-discipline, too many cards and penalties conceded­ and now this one a few days later (and many others no­ doubt) are saying it's Johnson's fault! Am I­ the only one who finds that ridiculous!?

    Give the man­ a chance, he was a good leader as a player and I'm­ sure he can be as a coach. That's the problem with­ sport. If a team loses often, they simply sack the­ manager. Why not drop the most reckless players?­ Letting Johnson go would just mess things up AGAIN for­ England. I'm not English but still I want a better­ England team. It's better for the game. As long as­ Wales can still beat them of course! :D

    From Jake, on Tue 3 Mar 7:35PM

  19. Please let MJ stay in charge because of his reactions­ in the game, lack of charisma and pure arrogance when­ interviewed is just hilarious and must give all other­ nations a great laugh!

    From Graham H, on Tue 3 Mar 6:45PM

  20. The six nations is not just about England there are 5­ other teams in it and everyone is putting their bodies­ on the line for their respective countries. Give the­ coaches a chance to sort @#$% out! It takes time.­ Coaches need to experiment with different players and­ it's all down to the players attitude on the day­ regardless of what the coaches say.

    From TENKO, on Tue 3 Mar 5:41PM
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