McGeechan backing Johnson to succeed
Bath's new performance director Sir Ian McGeechan is backing Martin Johnson to lead England to World Cup glory next summer.
McGeechan is one of the most high profile and experienced figures in the English game and he says that the experience the side will have gained from their Southern Hemisphere tour this summer will work well for them.
England, winners in 2003 and runners-up in 2007, are currently huge outsiders to win the World Cup next summer but they have shown that they do have the quality and talent needed to beat anyone. McGeechan also frowns upon those who say Johnson is not up to the task and says it would be very negative for the side to change coach now.
McGeechan says that Johnson has all the right qualities as a coach to lead England to glory. He also points out that the side is very well balanced and hungry after not retaining their World Cup crown in 2007.
Johnson's qualities
Johnson is a very good leader and this makes him ideal as the coach of a side. He captained England when they won the World Cup in 2003 and therefore has all of the right experience needed to prepare his side for next summer.
He will have the correct experience needed to deal with all of the familiar feelings that are going to be hitting his players as the World Cup approaches. Other coaches will not have played in and won a World Cup final.
Johnson has been relatively successful in charge of the England side. Not many people will consider that his team have won in Australia, have beaten South Africa and New Zealand and have done very well in the Six Nations.
McGeechan said: "England, of all the sides at the moment, have probably got the best mix of established, experienced players and enthusiastic quality younger players. If that continues to evolve over the next 12 months then they will probably be in pretty good shape for the World Cup."
The balance
The balance of the England side is very good. They have a tremendous ability to leak out the players who are dropping in quality and replacing them with players that are chomping at the bit to make an impression on the world stage.
There is more pace and strength across the England team than ever before and this is what McGeechan says makes them so difficult to play against. The problem has been stopping the unforced errors and mistakes. If England eradicated this part of their game then no other team would be able to beat them.
He added: "Johnno [Johnson] knows what he wants and he knows what it takes to create a winning environment. The key is for him to see that what they achieved in that last Test against Australia is just a staging point rather than a finishing line. Sometimes making just one change affects the way others play, and I think Johnson's decision to play Ben Youngs was critical for England."
Betting advice
If you want to have a punt on England to win the next World Cup then do it now while the odds will be pretty good. If they play well over the course of the next year then these odds will only reduce and your chances of making a significant profit will reduce with them.
Youngs is a very good player in the side at the moment. He looks hungry and his age doesn't seem to be a problem. Back him to score points for both club and country and he could be a good bet to score the most points by the end of the Premiership season.
Deans under intense pressure
The head of Australian Rugby Union John O'Neill says Robbie Deans is now under intense pressure to transform the fortunes of the side.
Head coach Deans has been in charge over the course of this summer and has seen some very inconsistent results for his team. They have failed to make the impression on the Tri-Nations that the ARU was looking for and many agree it's a matter of time before people start calling for his head.
Australia were comprehensively beaten in their last Tri-Nations match against New Zealand and the pressure is now firmly on Deans to transform the fortunes of his developing side.
It's important to take a thorough look at the problems that Deans immediately faces and how he can deal with them. Changing coach would also mean a step back for the Aussies as they look to push forward ahead of the World Cup next year.
Big problems
The main problem for Deans during the last two months has been consistency. His side have beaten England and South Africa but has also lost to both of these teams and also to a rampant Kiwi side that looks intent on beating everyone out of sight.
The Aussie team has been plagued by injuries but even when players have come back it seems to have made little difference. The likes of Benn Robinson were supposed to organise and stiffen the team but very little has changed since his re-inclusion.
Deans has to go back to basics and work on getting his team organised as a defensive unit. He cannot mess around with the players he has and just needs to pick the best individuals for each position.
O'Neill said: "If you're coaching the national team, there's an expectation that beating the All Blacks on a regular basis is a key performance indicator. The pressure will be on. But the pressure is on all of us, the board, me, Robbie, the team. We still believe he's the right person for that job to take us through to the World Cup. But I think the dogs will be barking a bit and we just have to respond next Saturday."
Stay realistic
The entire rugby set-up of the Australian national team has to keep things very simple and stay realistic. Changing coach now would hugely dent the team's chances of winning the World Cup next summer.
this is because a new coach would have to come in and change the playing squad, staff members and the general way that he goes about things. This would take time and the turn of the year would approach quickly, leaving only a few months to prepare ahead of the World Cup.
O'Neill added: "What worries us today is that we appear to be further away than what we were say a year ago. In any team sport you have to ask yourself 'do you have the cattle'. We believe we do but it's time they to start delivering week in, week out."
Betting Advice
Australia are very awkward to bet on because of their inconsistency. They have the quality and talent needed to beat anyone but they don't have the consistency needed to go and win a high profile tournament.
Have a punt on them to win their next game because the pressure is really on them at the moment. The Aussie mentality is to defy the odds when they are up against it and they should rise to the occasion. However, the safer option could be to bet in play with the Aussies, which will stop you from throwing money down the drain.
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