England’s Martin Johnson tries to downplay expectations
England head coach Martin Johnson has stated that Samoa are more than capable of causing an upset in the Test between the two teams, at Twickenham on Saturday 20 November.
Samoa will go into the match with no pressure as England are expected to beat the islanders comfortably, following their fantastic 35-18 win against Australia on Saturday 13 November.
Samoa impressed in the opening match of their tour and were unlucky to lose 20-10 to Ireland in Dublin.
Speaking at a press conference, Johnson said, "Samoa are perfectly capable of coming to Twickenham and winning a Test match. They are very, very dangerous. We need to have the edge we had last week about us."
Johnson was eager to reduce the expectations on England after they equalled their biggest margin of victory over Australia. "We are completely aware of what it can do to a team, if you get ahead of yourselves. The world is so volatile. Some of the stuff
I've had to deal with this week. We've won a game and played well, but it's one game. Calm down. We have to back it up through this series and through the Six Nations," warned the English coach.
The England coach criticised the media and society for their role in adding to the hype surrounding the English team.
"The perception of where you are is so high and so low, so quickly. It is an external thing and it's not just in our sport or sport as a whole, it's the world in general. We all live in an instant society where today's heroes are forgotten tomorrow and vice-versa."
Johnson insisted that the English team was attempting to improve gradually and build consistency ahead of the World Cup, "What we are trying to do is go on a steady, smooth upward plane."
England will hope to continue to improve with a win against Samoa this weekend.
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