Johnno on... World Cup final heartache

Hello everyone. Obviously I've just seen England lose the final to South Africa. I'm so disappointed for all the players as they had a chance to do it.

We gave South Africa the first six points and we couldn't afford to do that. If you take two of those out of the ball-game, we're right in there. At 9-6 we still could have gone on to win, but then we concede again so it's 12-6. But that penalty award to make it 15-6 was very iffy. That was a killer one for us. Once they got to nine points ahead, they could sit back and defend and kick the ball into touch because their line-out was never under pressure. But I thought we had just about enough territory and possession to make it a bit more difficult for them.

The big talking point was the Mark Cueto try. I've only watched it on a monitor 15 yards away, but his left foot did look like it touched the line. But anyway, he's not given it - you can't keep harping on about it. I thought the far worse decision was that penalty at 12-6 - that was a huge sway in the game.

South Africa have now won two World Cup finals without scoring a try. We got to the final by only scoring twice in the knockout stage. Games aren't always won by tries. You saw today it was won by a team with a very good kicking game, lineout and defence. It's very difficult to break these sides down. We defended pretty well for most of the game and they didn't make many breaks.

You've got to very proud of what that team has achieved, but we had a genuine chance to win it. All the players were genuinely disappointed - they weren't happy to just have played in a close final.

Looking forward, the RFU need to put in place the right coaching team to make sure we get the most out of our team. The good thing about this tournament is that we've got some guys like Toby Flood, Dan Hipkiss and Matthew Tait who have now had the experience of playing in the biggest game in the world. Some guys are at the end of their careers and there will obviously be a big transition.

But remember, we were 10 points shy of winning the World Cup - just imagine what it might have been like if we had got it right the last three or four years...

The final: no advice necessary

I won’t be giving Phil Vickery any advice as he prepares to lead England out in the final at the Stade de France on Saturday.

I didn’t give a team talk before the 2003 final. Team talks are over-rated. These guys will have been talking all week about what needs to be done. They'll be talking specifics, about all the little points in the game that will make all the difference.

They're in a World Cup final so you don't have to say too much. If we can put constant and relentless pressure on South Africa, not let them have anything easily and don't let them get too comfortable too quickly and keep playing into that last ten minutes then we have more than a chance.

We cannot give them points easily. One huge, last effort is what the players will be asking of each other. The start is absolutely vital, as is the period before half time. That was when Australia scored against us and that was the most dangerous point against the French in terms of them doing something, but they changed their game slightly and stopped piling in, letting us hang in there until half time.

They have got to stay in the game and make South Africa go the distance. That's the key. I'm not necessarily expecting another tight encounter without much running rugby. I think both teams have achieved the right balance whether to keep the ball or go into wider areas of the field. I expect both teams to do it on occasion. It's just picking the right moment. South Africa have got Habana, Pietersen and Montgomery, we've got Robinson and Sackey, so if there are chances to give those guys the ball in space obviously both teams will do it and pull the trigger. It's just finding that space. In tight Test matches that space is not always easy to find.

I think the guy we really need to shut down on is Fourie du Preez, their scrum-half. He's a big playmaker for them and hurt us in the group game. We'll need to have pressure on him. If that pressure can get past the line to Butch James then all the better. We certainly can't let du Preez make those runs across the defensive line and then make breaks or put people into gaps because that can be lethal. As we've seen they can go 50, 60, 70 yards really quickly.

Putting pressure on their forward pack and around the fringes, not letting du Preez get quick ball in his hands and running with it, that's all key for us.

England's spirit has been the key

We're now just a few days away from the World Cup final. There's been a lot of talk this week about how England have achieved this extraordinary renaissance since being thrashed by South Africa in the group stages. My answer would simply be 'look at the players'.

They've sat down and said 'Right, let's sort this out'. They've decided, 'we can either go out of the tournament without a whimper or we go out and give it a go and make ourselves difficult to beat'. That's been good enough to win them the last four games.

I don't know why people are searching for some sort of magical button that's been pressed. It's down to the attitude of the players.

A lot of people have been hopping on the back of the bandwagon in the last week or so. Obviously the coach has helped but it's the team that have got themselves back in it. You have a point after you've lost 36-0 when you come out fighting or you disappear.

As for England's preparations this week, it's just about the detail; doing specific work on their play, set piece and line-outs. A lot of the week is mental, getting themselves in the right frame of mind. It won't be a big physical week for either team.

England may have exceeded expectations already but once you're in the final that changes. The expectation this week will be higher than it has all tournament because you're in the final and people will want to come over and watch England win. It's as simple as that.

The level of expectations is certainly more on South Africa as they're favourites but we just showed in the last three games that when you're in a match you have a chance regardless of the opposition. Can we do it for a third week on the trot? Hopefully we can.

England have made just one change, with Mark Cueto coming in for Josh Lewsey. It's very tough on Josh but these things [injuries] happen in rugby, unfortunately.

Mark has not played a game for a long time so that is possibly an issue but obviously it's a World Cup final so Mark just has to slot in there and do a job. I'm sure the Springboks will try to give him a high ball early on to test him out.

I'll be back on Friday with my thoughts when I'll be focusing on exactly how England can beat the Springboks and retain the Webb Ellis Trophy.

Johnno on...England's win over France

Greetings after another night of glory for England. We're in the final after a hard-earned victory over France - and what a night it was in Paris.

So how have Brian Ashton's side done it? We've had two games now that have gone pretty much just how England wanted them to go.

We had to get a good start, and we did just that through Josh Lewsey's try. But France bounced back and led at half time. There were so many critical periods when they came back into the game. They made headway when they held on to the ball, but then they stopped doing it. They started kicking.

It was a strange game in some ways. The French became very cautious, and I thought they could have pressed home their advantage, but our defence held.

They started to kick desperately and Jason Robinson made a few comfortable marks. One of the key moments came with the cross-kick in the second half, when we kept them out with some great tackles.

Then Jonny Wilkinson kicked a penalty and England were back in the game. France brought on Michalak but he didn't make much of an impact. And Chabal having to come on fairly early in the first half was a big factor in upsetting the French at that stage.

When England's replacements came on they did really well, with Hipkiss impressing at 13. He and the others who came off the bench gave England the boost they needed in the second half. And I thought Sackey was one of our best defenders.

As for Jonny, he was probably beaten in the kicking game out of hand, but when the chances came late on with the penalties and drop goal, he took them.

You can talk tactics all day, but when it comes to the crunch the guys have to go out there and make it happen. England did that in another gutsy display.

France, Australia and New Zealand will all be sitting back and kicking themselves, no doubt thinking that they're better teams than England.

But we're in the final once again. It's amazing - and I can't wait for next Saturday.

Johnno on... holding your nerve

Hi, not long to go now. England are just one game away from another final.

This is a wonderful match to look forward to; France in Paris, in a World Cup semi-final, a repeat of four years, all the history of England-France games…

Having said all that, you can’t get carried away with the magnitude of the occasion. You’re losing the point. You must treat it as another game of rugby, achieve your basic aims and go from there. You can’t be worrying about the fact that it’s a World Cup semi-final. You’re playing France, 'what do you need to do to beat them?' That’s what you’ve got to worry about.

The build-up will be immense and the atmosphere will be incredible. Both teams will be nervous, but it’s controlling that anxiety and turning that into a performance.

France will be in a very good frame of mind psychologically after winning in Cardiff, but it was do or die for them. To go out of your own World Cup in the quarter-final would not have been nice and they turned in a great performance. But now they’re back at home and just one game away from the final so if England can turn that into frustration and desperation, that could be crucial.

Johnno on... how England can win

Hello again. So how can England beat France? Easy - they need to do exactly what they did against Australia.

England must stay close to them on the scoreboard, put them under pressure and make them feel nervous in the last 20 minutes. The French and their fans won’t like a close last quarter. It’s anyone’s game then as we’ve seen with Fiji-Wales, England-Australia and France-New Zealand.

Australia didn’t have an edge to their game last week, but we got on top of them psychologically and physically. Any team, if you let them play, will look class and they’ll kill you. We’ve just got to be on top of them. If you let them attack you and gain momentum, the crowd will be in the game and before you know it you will be facing waves of attackers. If we slow the breakdown and turn them over, France will get frustrated.

I think some people look at England games and see that Jonny Wilkinson has kicked the goals and assume he’s won us the game. But last week each guy contributed massively to the win. When we made a mistake, we scrambled back and made sure it didn’t become points that often. When you’re playing good players you know that they will make breaks and turn you over, but you’ve just got to make sure they don’t really hurt you.

I'll be back tomorrow with more thoughts on the big game.

Johnno on... the build-up to France

Hi everyone, I’m not surprised Brian Ashton has named an unchanged team for the semi-final.

I thought he might bring Olly Barkley onto the bench just because of his experience, but I think with what England have been through, you get to the point where the guys deserve to play because of what they did in the last game. Brian almost said that himself.

Unless there was a compelling reason to change things, you would have to go with the same team. The team has been changed so many times recently so it’s refreshing that Brian has just said to the same men, ‘Go out there and do it again’.

Our subs worked pretty well against Australia. We got them on pretty early in the second half and didn’t wait until it was too late for the guys to have an impact and it kept the pace of the game high. Hopefully the same tactics can be applied on Saturday night.

Although nobody should underestimate France, I do think England will be happier to be facing them rather than New Zealand. The All Blacks may be out, but they have had the best playing record in the world since the last World Cup - they lose very few games.

I see Jeff Probyn is hoping for a France victory because he feels they will have more chance of beating South Africa in the final and keeping the World Cup in the northern hemisphere. If that’s his thoughts then fine - what will be will be. Nobody can safely predict the outcome of these two games though. England have got a real chance though.

Johnno on... sensational Aussie win

Hello everyone. I hope all you England fans are as pleased as I am after seeing that amazing win over Australia.

I wasn't too nervous watching on. You knew that both sides would have the opportunity to win it in those latter stages and it was going to be whoever held their nerve would win. A few of the England players said it wasn't a pretty game but that is Test match rugby at the highest level - it's tense. It was a great game of rugby to be at.

Everyone in the team did their job, everyone put in a serious 80 minutes of effort. I don't think you can pick out one man for special attention. True, the front row played particularly well, but everyone on the pitch could say they produced at key moments.

Australia have said a lot this week about England not being a world-class team and I think they've almost talked themselves into thinking they would win it comfortably. We had more try-scoring opportunites than them even though they got the only score. Even in winning 12-10, we left about 12 points on the field.

Australia's scrummage game is not the strongest but you have to make that a factor. Today it was a huge factor in terms of turnovers and pressure. We got more turnovers than in all four of the previous games put together. We were so much better at the breakdown. In the second half, they didn't score a point. We played most of the second half not in our third and were much better on the penalty count. We got on the right side of the ref which became a factor.

We still had a pretty high error rate particularly from the pass but we were just so resilient. We moved the ball and held on to the ball pretty well and caused them some problems and defensively we got better as the game went along. We were working very well off the ball and snuffing out a lot of their attacks and making them look pretty disorganised.

We'll probably have to score two tries at least to beat the All Blacks, assuming they beat France, and break that 20-point barrier. England will not get the dominance at the scrum, they will have to reduce the error count, take opportunities when they are there and defend even better than they did today. We are capable of that sort of performance.

It's going to be a good night. Marseille is absolutely packed full of fans. When you don't think you're going to win, it makes it even more special.

Johnno on... the crunch quarter-final

Hello again - the moment of truth beckons for England as they prepare for their quarter-final against Australia.

This is a massive game for all sorts of reasons, but it's going to be tough for us to repeat our success of the 2003 final.

So how should Brian Ashton's side go about their job? England have a strong scrum, which is an important part of the game. But it's not going to win us the match if other parts of our game aren't up to scratch. To be honest, I think they'll also have to play well in every other area. Defensively we need to be faster getting forward and getting into people. Lewis Moody showed some real urgency and speed in defence against Tonga, and that's why he's in the starting line-up again.

We're going to have to be competitve at the breakdown, and we need to win more turnover ball. That's going to be crucial.

I think England can win, but our error count has to be lower than it has been so far in the tournament. If it isn't, the Wallabies will punish us, no question. I don't believe we can concede more than one try and win this game. If we concede a couple of tries, then we're in big trouble. And we need more things to go right than the Australians do.

We need to make things uncomfortable for them physically - with the pace of the game we play, the physicality of our game, the pressure of our defence, our set-piece play - all these have to be in good order to squeeze the Wallabies out of the zone they want to be in.

But it's not going to be easy. Australia will attack our midfield. That's why it's important that we need to be at our best defensively, and to be more competitive at the breakdown.

People love these England v Australia clashes, and I'm really looking forward to it. I'll enjoy it even more if England can raise their game and reach the semi-finals. Whatever the outcome, I'll be back to give my verdict over the weekend.

Johnno on... Six Nations failures

Hi there - as England and Scotland prepare for their quarter-finals, Wales and Ireland are left to lick their wounds after suffering early exits from the World Cup.

Wales didn't waste much time in getting rid of Gareth Jenkins after Fiji put them out of the tournament. The harsh truth is that if you don't reach the quarter-finals, your coach is under real pressure. Yes he went very quickly and there was talk of player-power, but I don't know if there were things going on that we on the outside don't know about.

I haven't heard anything on the grapevine as to who the next Wales coach might be. Wales always seem to be starting again; they never seem to have two or three years of continuity.

As for Ireland, I was surprised at their level of performance. They didn't play well in what was the toughest of groups. If they'd been in the same group as England, Scotland or Wales they would probably have qualified for the quarter-finals.

Eddie O'Sullivan has got a four-year deal and the Irish RFU say they're going to back him. Ireland have had one of their most successful sides in modern times and it would be a bit harsh to get rid of O'Sullivan now.

But the World Cup has become all-important. You can have two or three years of good rugby then a bad run in the World Cup and people will be calling for your head. It happened to Clive Woodward in 1999 when we lost in the quarter-finals, but the English RFU stuck with him and four years later we won the trophy.

Johnno on England's quarter-final line-up

So Andy Farrell's back in England's starting line-up at inside centre and Jason Robinson returns from injury for what should be a cracking quarter-final against Australia on Saturday.

I thought Brian Ashton might bring Farrell back in midfield because they need someone who can get them going forward and over the gain line. They didn't really play off Olly Barkley very much against Tonga - whether that was his fault or just the way the team played, I'm not too sure.

But Farrell has more of a physical presence and I'm not surprised he's back in, especially as he kicks with his right foot, giving England a right-left combination between him and Jonny Wilkinson.

But I'm a bit surprised that Mark Regan is back in at hooker for George Chuter. I think George added something to the team when he came in, and his line-out play has been pretty good.

Maybe they think Regan is a stronger scrummager and they're trying to pressurise the Wallabies' scrum. And maybe they'll bring George on later in the game when there's more space for him to run into. With Phil Vickery, Andrew Sheridan and Regan starting in the front row, England will be hoping to exert pressure and control early on.

Australia used not to have the greatest of scrums but they've improved that part of their game in recent years so it will be interesting to see what happens on Saturday.

I'm glad that Lewis Moody is starting at open-side flanker again. I thought he played himself into the team with his performance against Tonga.

It's good to see Robinson back in at full-back, and I'm not surpised that Josh Lewsey has switched to the wing.

Can England win? And what tactics should they adopt? Find out in another of my World Cup blogs later in the week. In the meantime, send me your thoughts via the link below.

Johnno on... win over Tonga

Hello everyone. I’m a bit bleary-eyed having woken up in France at 5am to get back to England. I had a couple of beers to celebrate the win and can now look forward to watching the other home nations this weekend.

England played to a specific plan against Tonga and it worked. Apart from conceding an early try, we dominated territory. The Tonga kicking game was poor so we kicked a lot of ball although sometimes we were just giving it back to them. But we always seemed to pin them in their half and, in the last 20 minutes, the Tongans weren’t quite the same team.

When we went through phases last night I thought it was good. Even if you aren’t getting anywhere, the opposition are having to work and it gradually wears them down. England’s first-half tries were opportunistic, but the work they did led to the last 20 minutes being relatively comfortable.

There are still some issues though. The whole midfield area is lacking a bit of penetration and doesn’t look like knocking over a defence. Andy Farrell did make a difference, but they’ll probably pick the same back line against Australia depending on Jason Robinson coming back and Mark Cueto being injured.

We also need to react a bit better defensively. I thought at times we stood off and let them run at us which led to the first try. We really need to swarm Australia and look after our ball a bit better as well.

The breakdown remains a problem. Australia have got a guy called George Smith who will punish us at the breakdown. Occasionally we were getting men isolated and losing the ball so that’s a big focus for the team in training this week.

And finally there’s these spells of play which will drive Brian Ashton mad. At the start of the second half, we made basic errors and lost concentration and focus. Even Jonny Wilkinson was affected and at 19-13 it was worrying. We had two or three chances to clear our lines and didn’t do it. If you do that against one of the top five teams, they will come away with at least three points. All the little mistakes add up and the bigger the game and the better the opposition, the more they count.

Nevertheless, England are through. All the talk’s been of them not qualifying but they can relax a bit - the pressure’s now on Wales, Scotland and Ireland.

Johnno: How we can beat Tonga

It’s crunch time for England as they prepare to face Tonga in their final Pool A game which will see the loser go out of the tournament.

So how should England set about claiming the victory that would put them in the quarter-finals?

It’s quite simple really. When you’ve got the ball, you want the game to be quick – going forward and winning quick ball. That makes it so much easier to attack. You’ve got a disrupted opposition defence, and you’ve got gaps to aim at and mismatches to exploit.

When you’re defending, you want the game to slow right down so you have time to organise your defence, sort out the guys at breakdowns, and not get over-committed. The game’s as simple as that.

When you’ve got the ball you want to be generally attacking very quickly. England need to have a driving element in their game against Tonga. They managed to do that against Samoa, but they went away from it occasionally.

When they played fast, they were very effective. So it’s a question of getting the right balance between taking the legs off the opposition in the scrum and maul, and then attacking them with quick ball and good movement.

We saw Tonga play well against South Africa at times but when the Boks played direct rugby and started winning quick ball without being turned over at the breakdown, they opened up Tonga’s defence fairly easily.

England need to work hard and get through lots of phases even if early on they’re not making lots of obvious progress.

That way, they’ll be able to wear the opposition down. It’s about ball-retention, and about moving the ball smartly. You’ve got to create fatigue in your opponents, then chances will come.

They may not be try-scoring chances because their defence might be spot-on, but if you come away with three points from Jonny’s boot a few times in the first 20 minutes you can be nine or 12 points in front, and that’s a great place to be because it puts pressure on the opposition.

There’s no reason why England can’t win if they play in the right way. But for Tonga it’s potentially the biggest game in their rugby history, and they could go out and play their greatest ever game, with loads of inspiration and ferocity.

We can’t control that. But we can control our performance, and be at the required level.

Johnno on... the Aussie chief

Hello again as we come to the nitty-gritty of the World Cup, with England hoping for a win over Tonga to set up a potential quarter-final against the Wallabies.

England v Australia would be an interesting game, especially after the comments of John O’Neill, chief executive of the Australian Rugby Union. Apparently he said: “It doesn’t matter whether it’s cricket, rugby union, rugby league – we all hate England.”

Mmm…I think those words were spoken a bit more tongue in cheek than they actually appear when you see them in print. But for a chief exec to start using words like that doesn’t look too good for him. Yes it may be tongue in cheek, but it’s not a clever thing to do.

I don’t think it will make any difference to England if they beat Tonga and face the Wallabies in the quarter-finals. So what? It’s just words. But I don’t think a player would ever use such a strong word as ‘hate’ before a potential game between the two countries. I suppose it’s one of those situations where, when you’re quoted in context it sounds OK, but when you see it in print it’s not quite the same.

The really important thing as far as England are concerned is that they beat Tonga. Then we can all start thinking about Australia.

Johnno on Vickery's bench role

I was sorting out my washing when news came through of England's line-up for the crucial Pool A game against Tonga.

So what do I think? Not about my smalls - but Brian Ashton's team selection. He has two back-rowers on the bench which could be very handy. And he's got Corry starting in the back row because he can also cover the second row.

England obviously played their best game of the tournament so far in the win against Samoa, so with Phil Vickery coming back after suspension, it does make it a bit awkward for the coach when it's your captain.

Phil isn't in the starting XV but as a replacement he'll be very effective coming off the bench. And if you look at our bench now, you can bring on Lee Mears, who I thought would maybe have been on the bench last week, Vickery, Dallaglio and Worsley. You've got huge impact there.

I'm not saying that the starting line-up is undynamic, but if necessary Brian can change half his pack into a dynamic unit during the game. Those replacements can give England a big boost against a side like Tonga, and I think Brian's right in that regard.

Maybe Danny Hipkiss was the only guy to have a serious chance of coming into the starting XV to give the backs a bit more directness and penetration. He would have had to come in at 13 for Matthew Tait.

But I'm not saying I would have made that change. The back line that started against Samoa had never played together before so if Brian is backing them as his best back line, he has to stick with it.

I'm a little surprised to see Lewis Moody coming in at 7 because I reckon Joe Worsley did OK against Samoa. I thought Lewis may have come into the number 6 spot, and either Corry or Easter move over. But perhaps there are things going on behind the scenes that we don't know about with injuries or whatever.

As for Vickery and the fact that Corry will start as captain, it can be awkward but they're all very sensible guys and I can't see it causing problems if and when Vickery comes off the bench. Phil can play both sides in the front row and maybe he'll come on and add something in the last 25 or 30 minutes.

I'll be back later in the week to give my views on the way we should play against Tonga - and on a Wallaby jibe against England.

Johnno on... the win over Samoa

Hello again, it's fair to say I'm slightly happier tonight than compared to the Friday before last!

It was a great occasion - a really enjoyable Rugby World Cup day - and England not only won but we played better rugby as well. We would all have taken that win before kick off and definitely when it was 26-22. If Samoa had scored next at that point the game was really in the balance.

When we played direct and won the ball quickly we looked like we were going to cause trouble. We had the perfect start going 10-0 up, but we just seemed to play what was in front of us better. If the kick was on we kicked it; if we thought it was on to go round them we did that. We played a pretty high tempo rugby.

Andy Gomersall has been one of the biggest differences. He got the ball away very quickly. He had little subtle variations; a break here and there, a kicking game - he controlled that area pretty well. Obviously having a genuine number 10 in Jonny Wilkinson helped. He missed a couple of penalties, but the guy's human. I thought his tackling was great - he put in some big ones for the team. In fact, our defence was pretty solid throughout.

We still had problems getting out of our territory and conceding 22 points to Samoa is probably seven or eight too many. We need to work on our kicking game - when that ball's in the air we're not reacting quick enough and teams will punish us as Samoa did. But we showed a lot of composure and resilience after they battled right back into the game and won comfortably in the end.

As for the Tonga game, Phil Vickery and Jason Robinson, assuming he's got over his injury, will come back into the mix so it starts to give the team a few more options in the back three and the front five. I think 12 and 13 are still the biggest issues. Matthew Tait and Olly Barkley didn't quite work, but it's the first time they've ever been together. The only option is to bring in Danny Hipkiss at 13, but if Brian Ashton thought Tait was the right guy before today and then we win by 20 points, he'll probably stick with it.

Rule me out of England job - for now

Hello there – It's Johnno here again. I’m trying to come to terms with the fact that Ladbrokes have made me second favourite behind Dean Richards to replace Brian Ashton as the next England coach.

I’ve got some advice for you – don’t put any money on me. I’ve never coached in my life. People have a perception that because you were successful as a player, you can go back into the game and be successful as a coach.

If I want to get back into the game, I’ll do it in my own time and in my own way. I think that to go and do the biggest job in English rugby without any coaching experience would be a very difficult thing to do, to say the least.

Looking further ahead, I wouldn’t rule it out completely because you can’t rule anything out completely. But at the moment I’ve got no plans to go into coaching, and particularly with the England job.

The sad thing is that England are in a position where they haven’t played too well in this World Cup so people are starting to speculate during the tournament about who’s going to replace the coach when he’s actually still in the job.

It’s just media speculation – one of those things that comes up when England aren’t playing well. In fact they’ve still got a good chance of making the quarter-finals.

The players need to be concentrating on the game against Samoa, and on what’s actually happening, not on all the media speculation. It’s vital that they beat Samoa.

As for Dean Richards, he’s won four leagues and two European Cups and is now doing a good job with Harlequins, so his name is always going to get a mention as well. At least he’s been doing a coaching job for some time, unlike me!

Other names in the hat? I’m not going to add to the speculation because there’s no hat to put them in at the moment.

I wouldn’t have minded the Chelsea job though! They say that Jose’s expecting a £25m pay-off. That’s not a bad little package.

Joking apart, the important thing for Brian and his England side is to concentrate on the Samoa game on Saturday. I’ll be back shortly after the match to give my verdict. Join me then.

Johnno on under-fire Brian Ashton

Hello there. It's Johnno here again with some thoughts on England's upcoming World Cup Pool A game with Samoa, but firstly a few words on the coach Brian Ashton.

He's only had a very short time with the team but when you take a job you know what you're getting into and at World Cup time people will want to know why this has happened.

If you play a team that's better than you, with more experience, skill and control and they get the better of you that's one thing. But England haven't played anywhere near as well as they can, that's the disappointing thing.

If that was as good those players can be, fine, but it's not. We know they can be a lot better. When you're coaching and you're not getting anywhere near the potential of your team, that's disappointing.

We can still beat some of the best teams in the world but we have to start worrying about our performance. Forget about qualification or anything else, just start the game well.

We started the South Africa game and were 10 points down within 10 minutes and that'a a very, very difficult thing to come back from in a big game against a team like that when you're short of confidence. We need to keep the tempo of the game high and control the ball.

Looking at the line-up Ashton has selected against Samoa, it's a whole new midfield from the South Africa game. They've almost ripped it up and started again. Samoa are not facing the most physical England midfield I've ever seen but it's a pretty skilful one.

When he came on against South Africa Andy Gommersall was far sharper round the base of the breakdown, so you expected that change to happen. Joe Worsley's athleticism has got him in. I'm surprised Lewis Moody isn't starting in the back row. I thought he might fit into the back row somewhere, maybe Martin Corry go to the second row.

It's a bit of a shame for Danny Hipkiss not getting a go at 13. It's good to see George Chuter get a start. Olly Barkley is now playing 12, which he wasn't brought on the tour to do. England have struggled at 12 for the last couple of years so it will be interesting to see how he goes.

It really typifies what England have been through in the last few years - going from one game to the other with vastly different players. There has been no continuity in any of the key positions. They're not sure what their best team is.

The Samoans' endurance is not their strength so the last 30 minutes is when you can start taking advantage of that. We really need to start very, very quickly and aggressively and not let Samoa get early points on us.

I'll be back on Thursday as we build up to Saturday's crunch Samoa game. Catch up with you then.

Johnno picks his team for Samoa

Hi, it’s Johnno here again. Sorry I haven’t updated my blog for a few days - it’s taken me a while to get over Friday night!

Torture it was. England were just so poor - it’s hard for anyone to watch that. But it’s time to look forward to the crunch game with Samoa on Saturday. Brian Ashton has some big decisions.

I don’t know if wholesale changes are required. It’s good news to have Jonny Wilkinson back. At every level, not having a regular number 10 playing for you is a big disadvantage. Wilko’s a top-class player - he’ll help everything; variety of kick offs, directing the play, strong defence and kicking at goal.

I think they’ll have to play Danny Hipkiss at 13 and Mike Catt at 12. A lot of people were criticising Andy Farrell after the South Africa game, but in a team performance which is that disappointing, I don’t think any individual can be picked out. Having said that, I think Wilkinson at 10 and Catt at 12 would be our first-choice team. Elsewhere in the backs, I think Andy Gomersal will start at scrum half, Josh Lewsey will probably drop back to full-back to replace Jason Robinson while Mark Cueto will return on the wing.

Up front, Matt Stevens scrummaged pretty well but Phil Vickery will probably replace him as he’s captain. George Chuter will start. The back five may be somewhere which gets a bit of change. I would like to see Lewis Moody and Joe Worsley start to give us a dynamic back row and put Martin Corry back in the second row.

We’ll find out whether Brian agrees later in the week. I’ll be back to give my views on the team and preview the Samoa game in more detail. Bye for now!

Johnno on the crunch Springboks clash

It's Johnno here again, getting ready to head out to Paris for England's big showdown against South Africa on Friday.

Losing Jonny Wilkinson and potentially Olly Barkley for the match is always going to leave the squad looking a bit thin. You have to hedge your bets and put other guys in and it disrupts preparation.

I'm sure Mike Catt will have to play at 10 and Andy Farrell at 12. They also don't know yet whether Phil Vickery is going to be playing or not. However, the squad has been together so long you should be able to overcome these things.

If they go out on Friday night with the right attitude, minimise the mistakes and cut down on penalties England have got a chance to win this game. South Africa are under huge pressure, there's a large amount of expectation on them and England have to approach it as just another 80 minutes of rugby.

South Africa were decent against Samoa but they can be impressive one week and not the next; that's the nature of sport.

England have to pressure them all the time. Every little tackle, ruck and maul situation, England have to be right on the edge. Every kick South Africa take there has to be a guy bearing down on him. Every little scrap of ball we'll have to fight for.

I just hope that after 15-20 minutes we're still in the game. The longer the match stays close, the more pressure will be on South Africa.

All of the Home Nations have played now and none of them have been particularly impressive in their opening games. They've all had similar sorts of games where they've been expected to win. The good thing is they've all got bigger games to come that will effectively decide their pools.

Wales, who face Australia on Saturday, have been disrupted by Stephen Jones not being available for the pre-World Cup games. They don't usually play well in the tournament warm-ups but then they turn it on in the real thing.

They did that four years ago then played some really decent stuff in the tournament itself. I expect them to play really well on Saturday and give the Aussies a really good game.

Johnno on USA win and a return to action

Hello, it's Johnno here, fresh from watching the England game, with my latest blog!

It was undeniably a very poor performance against USA. England didn't get any momentum - it was very messy. But the States are a tricky team to play against because they don't mind giving penalties away - that frustrated England.

It's very hard to pick out individuals when the team plays like that. But Olly Barkley was probably our most direct and dangerous runner. He made two or three breaks and played pretty well, but if England are struggling to win the ball, it makes it so difficult to attack with any potency.

Nobody in the England team will be thinking "I'm assured of my place against South Africa". Phil Vickery could be in trouble because he tripped someone and it wasn't seen - he might be banned. I'm not sure whether the back row combination worked well either - Brian Ashton's got choices there though with Corry and Easter on the bench.

I'm out in France next week for the South Africa game so I'm looking forward to sampling the atmosphere. The game finishes fairly late but hopefully there'll be time for a quiet night out. But when you're in a town full of rugby fans, it's hard to find a quiet bar. I'll be looking for a bit of advice!

It will be interesting to see who's out there. The world of rugby will be about and I'm sure there'll be some England lads around.

I do still keep in touch with some of my former Leicester and England teammates but not as much as I would like. I played cricket with a couple back in July and we loved it; in the changing room getting ready for the game we were all saying we should do this more. But everyone's busy. Where I live there's still opportunity to catch up with the Leicester guys but some former teammates I don't see at all. The retired players really enjoy it because we're obviously not on the circuit and playing that much.

The start of the World Cup has made me think about how much I've missed playing rugby this year - not just at the top level with Leicester - just any game. Don't be surprised if I turn out and play a couple of games this year for someone. I'm not sure who though!

Martin Johnson on England v USA

Hi there! The Rugby World Cup is finally upon us and the final countdown has started to England’s opener against the USA on Saturday.

As a fan of American football, I’ll be interested to see how the USA shape up on Saturday.

There are pockets of real rugby interest on the east and west coasts of the States, but it’s such a huge country that getting a national system up and running and working well is difficult.

The big sports like American football and baseball dominate over there. But there are moves afoot by people in the American Rugby Union to tap into the potential of those athletes who don’t make the higher echelons of American football. And those guys are real power athletes.

As for the opening Pool A game, I think the USA will be very physical and won’t let England have it all their own way.And I don’t think England need an easy game.

They need a physical match because they’re getting ready for a tough clash with South Africa the following week.

England are far better off having a competitive first game rather than scoring a lot of points in a walkover. I think the real focus for England in their first game will be whether they are playing the right way, doing the right things.

If Brian Ashton’s side can do that, they should win and be in good shape for the tougher tests to come.

Martin Johnson gives his RWC predictions

Hi -  welcome to my latest World Cup blog. It’s prediction time for what’s shaping up to be a highly competitive tournament.

New Zealand have got to be favourites to lift the trophy. I think they’ve been the best team in the world for the past three years or so.

They lost once to Australia in the Tri-Nations but they’ve got tremendous depth in their squad and some outstanding players.

You’ve got to have a good number 10 to be successful in the World Cup, and in Dan Carter the All Blacks have one of the best in the business.

They’re a far better all-round side than they were in 2003 when we won the trophy.

The one thing that might count against them is the tremendous pressure that they’re under this time round. They won the first World Cup in 1987 but haven’t been able to repeat that success since then.

There will also be a lot of pressure on France as the host nation. But they’re looking good in the run-up to the tournament and will be hard to beat. I can see them reaching the semi-finals.

The same goes for Australia, who can never be ruled out.

Ireland are in a tough pool which includes France and Argentina, but they must fancy their chances of reaching the semi-finals for the first time in their history.

As for England, I think they’ve got to beat South Africa on 14 September and win their pool. If they can do that then Brian Ashton’s side have a chance of reaching the semis.

Only one team has ever got to the World Cup final after losing a pool game. We did it in 1991. One thing in that could be in England’s favour is that South Africa’s opening game is a tough one against Samoa, the day after England play the USA.

If South Africa lose some key guys because they get hurt against Samoa, it might make life a bit easier for England on the 14th.

But it’s going to be a fiercely competitive game against the Springboks, who have a fantastic runner in Bryan Habana.

Johnno on World Cup WAGs

Welcome to my latest blog which is all about WAGs.

I know they became a thorny issue at the football and cricket World Cups, with claims that the wives and girlfriends had a negative effect on the England camps.

But when you’re away from home for a long time playing sport, it seems very normal to have your wife and/or children with you.

At the 2003 rugby World Cup some of the wives and girlfriends were there throughout the tournament, while others came out later on.

It was all fine. They knew when they could or couldn’t be around. And the guys knew the same thing – when it was work time, and when it was time to be with the family.

One of the keys of being successful is to have that balance. When it’s work time you’re really focussed on working, and when it’s relax time you need to get your mind off things.

We were fortunate in 2003 because we had an experienced group of players who knew exactly what was required of us.

The wives and girlfriends were fantastic because at World Cup time there’s always a fair bit of media speculation, though not so much in rugby as in soccer with the likes of Wayne Rooney and David Beckham.

But the girls were happy to be out there in Australia – they got on with enjoying themselves, having a good time without getting involved in any of the media speculation.

My wife Kay certainly enjoyed being out there, though she found watching the final a bit nerve-racking, especially in extra time.

It all turned out fine in the end though - and everyone had a great time.

Johnno on Wales' chances

Here’s an exclusive for you - I’m definitely not coming out of retirement to play for Wales. Yes, that’s what Wales fan Rich asked me to do in response to an earlier blog.

Thanks for that Rich, but I think I’ll pass on that one, if you’ll pardon the pun.

I know Wales were thrashed by England in their World Cup warm-up game, but I thought they played well in the first half of their 27-20 win over Argentina, and they weren’t disgraced against France.

The Welsh second row looked pretty good against Argentina, and I thought Ian Gough and Alun Wyn Jones did well.

Going back to the England game, if you’re done by 60 points or more you rightly get some flak, but if Wales play well in the World Cup people won’t remember that game, will they?

I’m particularly looking forward to seeing Gareth Jenkins’ side play against Australia in their Pool B game on 15 September.

I’d like to see them really take the Australians on and try to play their kind of rugby – handle the ball a lot, keep the ball alive at the right times, and run at teams.

Wales have good attacking players, and they’ve got forwards who can run with the ball. You’ve got to take a team like Australia on across the board and run with it.

Most of all they’ve got to believe in themselves. If you look at the last 20 minutes of Wales’ game against Argentina compared with the last 20 minutes of England’s second game against France, the intensity and pace of the two games were completely different.

So you’ve got to be able to go for a full 80 minutes against a good team like Australia, and you’ve got to be able to trust in your defence without giving penalties away.

If the Wales back row starts to give away penalties rather than defend properly, they’re going to lose. Top teams like Australia will punish mistakes.

Going back to England's defeat to France in Marseille, England fan Skelly responded to my earlier blog with a question about Simon Shaw being sent to the sin bin. Was it a fair call by the ref? I don't think so. It was a bit of a high tackle at worst, and that was it.

A home-town decision in my view - the crowd got on to it and the referee put Shaw in the bin.

Martin Johnson's verdict on England

OK so England have come in for a lot of stick after losing 22-9 to France in Marseille. But in my latest World Cup blog I want to give a different slant on their final warm-up game.

I thought it was a really good Test match - tense and tough. Yes England came off second-best in terms of territory, and certainly with the referee in terms of penalties. That really cost them.

England went in 12-3 down at half time and they lost a guy for 10 minutes in the sin bin - and France scored another seven points in that period. That was a long way to come back from.

But I think there are quite a lot of positives to come out of the game for England. The intensity of their defence was pretty good in what was a really physical encounter.

After failing to score a try in their two warm-up games against France, they need to create a few more try-scoring opportunities. But they were playing France who've got an excellent defence, and the game was in Marseille, which is probably one of the hardest places to play in world rugby, believe me.

It was one of the most intense matches that England have played in for a while, and that's got to be a good thing. It's far better to play two tough Test matches against France and lose than to score 60 points or more against half-cock teams.

I think they'll be better as a team. They've gone to Marseille, a real cauldron, and they stood up to the test physically. They've now got three weeks to work hard and work on a few things to get a better understanding.

After the game Simon Shaw admitted that England were too one-dimensional, with no interplay between forwards and backs. There's some truth in that comment. They did miss the opportunity to pass the ball on occasions and just took it on when there were numbers outside. I wouldn't say they're one-dimensional but they could be a bit more organised behind the scrum.

There were times when Andy Farrell and Jonny Wilkinson got a bit mixed up, but that's going to happen. Farrell's only played four or five internationals so they're still working on how best to play together.

As for Danny Hipkiss, he'd played just one international, and to go and play your second Test match in Marseille against a pretty decent France team is a big ask. But I thought he did OK.

Tom Rees did some good work. The French back row played well but Rees and the England back row held up well. And Lawrence Dallaglio still looks like an international player - I thought he played well when he came on.

Work at the breakdown and organisation of England's attack are the two big things for Brian Ashton to work on before the World Cup starts. And he'll be doing some more detailed work on assessing the opposition's strengths and weaknesses.

First up are the USA, followed by South Africa. I can't wait. In the meantime feel free to give your verdict on my verdict on England's warm-up displays via the link below.

Martin Johnson…..It’s time to get smart

So the England squad of 30 has been announced and the real World Cup countdown has begun.

The ways teams prepare have changed a lot since I played in my first World Cup in 1995.

Back then it was an amateur game so all the guys were working as well as playing rugby, and there wasn’t really a proper training schedule.

And the World Cup in ’95 was in May/June, so you finished the English season and virtually got your bag packed and went straight down to South Africa, which was tough.

So much has changed since then. It helps a lot with the tournament being where it is now in the calendar, at the start of September/October, because it’s the beginning of the season so the players get the off-season.

Looking back on the 1999 World Cup, we probably worked harder running up to the tournament than when we won it in 2003.

But in 2003 we worked smarter. To put it simply, we knew more of what we had to do, and what we needed to work on.

In 1999 we’d only been playing together as a unit for two or three years. We were still learning a great deal about the most effective ways to train and to prepare, and the team wasn’t quite as settled as it was four years later.

In the final few weeks running up to the tournament, you need to work hard and to keep up the momentum, without overdoing it. That’s what Brian Ashton’s squad – and all the other squads - will be trying to do: working hard, but working smart.

Martin Johnson...on the World Cup squad

Hello it's me again, giving my verdict on Brian Ashton's England squad for the World Cup.

Some people might be surprised that Mike Tindall and Charlie Hodgson aren't included. But I'm not.

Time has simply run out for Mike and Charlie. They haven't had enough match practice since coming back from serious injuries and it would have been too much of a risk at this stage to include them. You can't go into a World Cup when you're not fully match fit.

And I'm not surprised by the inclusion of Andy Farrell and Lawrence Dallaglio. They're two experienced guys with a lot to offer.

The man who I think is unlucky to miss out is James Haskell. He's an excellent player who's impressed a lot of people. And young Toby Flood is also unlucky, but his time will come.

Brian has an experienced group of players, with 12 of the guys who were in the 2003 squad. His job now is to get the best out of them in the next few weeks.

There isn't a specialist full-back but I don't think that should be a problem with Mark Cueto, Josh Lewsey and Jason Robinson all having played at 15.

I'm sure Brian Ashton will have some fine-tuning to do in the final warm-up matches, and he probably still has to decide what his best starting line-up will be. But there are plenty of decent players in the squad who can do a good job for England.

Martin Johnson on... not playing in the World Cup

Hello, I'm Martin Johnson and welcome to my first Orange blog!

This is where I'll be giving you my own take on the biggest stories in the build-up to the World Cup.

This is the first time I've not been playing in the tournament since 1991, so it's going to be strange when England run out to face the USA for their first game. So yes there'll be a twinge when it all starts.

It's a fantastic thing when you have all the world of rugby gathered together, all hopefully at their best, at their peak. There are no excuses, there's no 'Oh we haven't brought X or Y players'. It's a case of trying to be the best against the best in the world.

It really is a wonderful feeling to be involved in it all so yes, it will be strange looking in from the outside this time round, not being involved in all the training and preparations.

When you’re in a World Cup there’s a great feeling of being involved in something very big and very special. It makes all the hard work and training worthwhile.

Whenever I was out injured during my playing days I wasn’t a particularly good watcher. But I’m going to enjoy watching this World Cup. I’m not hankering to be out there on the pitch particularly. So I’ll be able to sit back and enjoy watching all the action unfold.

It will be a whole lot better and easier if England do well, and I’m looking forward to seeing how they progress.

When you play it’s a completely different ball game. When you’re involved and in the squad, you’re sitting in hotel rooms, going to training grounds, trying to win games, trying to keep things very normal.
This time it’s going to be very different.