England manager Martin Johnson training his squad in Portugal
Martin Johnson the England’s manager has assembled his troop today for the first day of training in Portugal, two weeks prior to the Six Nations. He is aiming to give England at least a top two finish in this campaign.
A very bright tactic by chief executive Rugby Football Union John Steele to pass on the test to the ex-lock and is expected to create a galvanized side that has underachieved in this tournament since Johnson was a player himself. John Steele gave the manager
some room to move about and if situation gets twisted on the opening match against Wales, Johnson has the right to make big decisions.
The players didn’t pay heed to whatever the weather was and dedicatedly participated in the training camp. Everyone gathered under the flood lights with the coaches and Martin Johnson to give in what they had.
Anyhow, if the results don’t show up to be as targeted, one can always forgive Johnson, as the job is way more difficult for him as expected. Martin Johnson had to induce three uncapped players to the English squad in his line out after the ruling out of
Tom croft, Lewis Moodey and Courtney Lawes. The situation is way tougher for him as he might have thought.
Phil Dowson and Tom Wood, the Northampton Saints’ back row pair has joined the English side too in Algarve for training. George Skivington the Leicester Tigers’ lock has been induced today. Even though he doesn’t have a completely experienced side, he believes
England will end up as winners or at least runners up of the Six Nations.
John Steele stated, “We have three matches at home and have some momentum from the autumn, we believe finishing in the top two of the championship is a realistic expectation.”
He said that ending up at the third position or even below will be very disappointing as it’s England’s and his name at stake. Mentioning the upcoming World Cup he added, “We are also looking to see the development of our young players continue and our playing
style evolve as we build to the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand this year.”
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