All Blacks coach Graham Henry backs Martin Johnson - Rugby News Update
All Blacks head coach, Graham Henry, has supported Martin Johnson and thinks that he should be given another chance to carry on his job as England’s manager despite an early exit from Rugby World Cup 2011. Henry declared Johnson a capable person on October
25, and said that he has the ability handle various team issues as he has worked with him as a coach for Lions in 2001.
Martin Johnson’s men displayed a poor performance in the global showpiece and were ruled out from the quarter-final stages at the hands of France. The manager faced nationwide criticism and his future with the side remains undefined.
Martin Johnson has been serving England as a manager since July 1 2008 and his current tenure will come to an end with this year. During his time with the national side, England has won a number of matches but the latest turmoil in the world tournament has
disregarded his previous efforts.
Earlier this year, he led his team very near to claiming a Grand Slam in Six Nations championship but the last defeat at the hands of Ireland stopped the run. However, England won the Six Nations tournament in an impressive way.
He was the skipper of England when they won the Rugby World Cup in 2003 and so were they expecting in the recently concluded tournament.
The veteran coach of All Blacks applauded the England manager's services and said that, “He's a top man. I was very impressed with him when he was captain of the 2001 Lions [coached by Henry]. Continuity is important. You learn a lot from those situations
and if you put new people in there they have to learn the whole thing all over again.”
Henry further said that, “Look at someone like Sir Alex Ferguson - he has done pretty well, hasn't he? But there are a lot more who have been given the bullet early, only for the people who shoot them to realise maybe there isn't a quick fix waiting around
the next corner.”
Rugby Football Union is expected to make a decision regarding Johnson’s future in the coming few weeks.
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