Last season it was Johnson's fist thumping into the Croke Park seating that encapsulated his frustration. Here, it was his very demeanour. There was only one positive from the torturous victory over Argentina, namely that it was a win. Everything else, bar the clattering resilience of Lewis Moody, was grim, grim, grim. It was quite the most awful performance seen at Twickenham.
Johnson invariably masks his true feelings. An hour or after the referee, Nigel Owens, had brought a merciful end to proceedings, Johnson stood, hunched and world-weary in the gymnasium of Twickenham's west stand. A swinging punch-bag might have made a better outlet for his pent-up frustration. Instead it was a battery of notebooks and microphones.
"It was a long 80 minutes," he conceded. "I can't deny it was a tough game to watch, particularly in the first half."
If the end result of various training camps is to hoof the ball endlessly and aimlessly into the gloomy Twickenham skies, England would be better disposed to meet on a Friday night, have a few beers, sketch out a few ideas and play it as they see it. It would certainly work out cheaper for the Rugby Football Union. And it would undoubtedly be more fun to watch. More productive, too. Oh, for a glimmer of elation in England's play.
England are paralysed by anxiety. They have the collective body language of a nervous wreck. They lack ambition because they lack belief. Again, Johnson did not duck the charge.
"You can hammer them but our job is to get them into the best shape," he said. "But we do need to go out there and be bloody aggressive."
England talk a good game at the moment. And then play a terrible one. Johnson does not rule with an iron fist. He is inclusive and receptive. Well, perhaps he should try the beetle-browed, frighten-the-living-daylights-out-of-them approach. For his mild-mannered way is having the opposite effect to the one intended. England are playing like jumpy schoolkids, terrified of offending those on high. There is no initiative, no spark, no nerve. They lack cojones, as the Argentines might say. Against Australia, England waited until the game was well and truly done before they gave it a lash. Here, the more upbeat tempo came only after a half-time pep talk from the coaches. Why? Where is the leadership, either from the captain, Steve Borthwick, or the half-back decision-makers? Johnson spoke about getting messages on to the field at one point. Why do a team of professional athletes need messages? Why not send a milk bottle and some rusks while they're at it? England are badly in need of liberation.
Jonny Wilkinson felt that the side were spooked by the appalling weather conditions of Friday evening and Saturday morning. The team made up their mind there and then that they would take no chances, play risk-free rugby.
So much for making Twickenham into a fortress, a call to arms on pre-match publicity blurbs. The marketing hubris came back to haunt England. Even if you accept the need to play a kick and chase game, a tactic that has served, and continues to serve, Argentina well, then at least implement it with some wallop.
Wilkinson, who missed three second-half pots at goal (as, in the game, did Argentina), was at fault from hand, his kicks either not accurate enough or not high enough. And as for the chase, it was non-existent save for the lone figure of Moody. Without belittling the Leicester man's courage and gung-ho running, it is not the most difficult trick to master. Where were the others? Moody was the entire cavalry.
England eventually did find fruition through a 70th-minute try from Matt Banahan after good build-up work in particular from James Haskell, Borthwick and Moody. Perhaps the monkey might now slide off England's back. No one expects them to beat New Zealand next time out, so they can give it a real crack. The Twickenham faithful can but hope. There were jeers at half-time. Johnson did not bridle at that. "We deserved it: they had every right not to be happy."
Changes in personnel for New Zealand will bring about some remedy, with lock Simon Shaw's inclusion an imperative, as is the switching of Ugo Monye to the wing. Monye was hapless at full-back and deserves better.
But above all else, England need a sea-change in attitude. They need to break free of their careworn state of mind. This was a game they dared not lose. Fair enough. They won. It just did not feel like it.
Source:telegraph.co.uk
No comments:
Post a Comment