Youngs: England Can Win Rugby World Cup
Ben Youngs flies over for a try against Australia during the Cook Cup match
England’s 20-year-old scrumhalf Ben Youngs believes his team has what it takes to win the 2011 World Cup.
Youngs insists the 21-20 victory in the second Test in Sydney was a watershed moment for Martin Johnson’s squad after two tumultuous years, and if they build on their victory against the Wallabies, they can win next year’s World Cup. The Leicester scrumhalf emerged as the leading light of the June tour, scoring a try on his full debut in what was only England’s third victory against the Wallabies in Australia.
Although New Zealand’s subsequent domination of the Tri-Nations has provided a more sobering context for England’s achievement, Youngs says there is now a “great atmosphere” in the squad, who are taking part in a training camp at Twickenham this week. And the 20-year-old, having relished his taste of success on the international stage, is convinced England are on track to make a big impact at the World Cup in New Zealand next year.
“The tour was fantastic and the win for us was a long time coming, we showed glimpses against France and all the boys put in a huge effort to get it right in the second Test,” said Youngs, who has emulated his father Nick, another Leicester and England scrumhalf, who won the last of six caps in 1984. “The key for us is to keep moving forward and use the performance [against Australia] as a base. It is up to the players to work hard and put in the performances and for the coaches to come up with the ideas. If we do that together there is no reason why we can’t push ahead and put ourselves in good shape for New Zealand next year.
“We have got to believe as English players that we are capable of winning [the World Cup] and this is a big year for many players, myself included.”
Former England coach Brian Ashton is among those who have earmarked Youngs as the outstanding player in an impressive group that won the Grand Slam with England Under-20s in 2008 and reached back-to-back finals of the International Rugby Board Junior World Championship. “Youngs looks as though he has got an old head on young shoulders, he is quick of service and of foot and pace is something you can’t defend against, no matter what the level,” Ashton said. “It also will be interesting to see how the young second-row forwards come through.
“I don’t know Courtney Lawes that well but I do know Dave Attwood because he came through the national academy. He is a good footballer as well as being a big, hard man. That is the modern game.”
Youngs agrees that a new generation of players is eager to make a breakthrough with England. “There are a lot of young players who deserved a go and it was nice that it didn’t just work out for me but also went well for players like Courtney, Chris [Ashton] and Ben [Foden],” he said.
England’s autumn series, which features matches against Australia, Argentina and New Zealand, will provide a useful test of whether England are indeed making progress. Youngs, voicing a sentiment that will no doubt impress Johnson, said that to become a world power again England would have to put in a lot of hard work. Starting with himself.
“My game management and basic skills have to improve,” said Youngs, whose training regime at Leicester includes extra sessions with former England scrumhalf Kyran Bracken. “You can never rest on what skills you have got. My feet are firmly on the ground and I will work for everything I get.”
With thanks to the Telegraph
Australia Expose Johnson’s Weaknesses
It is now two years and 22 Test matches since Martin Johnson was handed the job as England’s team manager. In that time the national side have won only eight times and been victorious abroad just once in a truly dire Six Nations contest against a deeply average Italy. Players come and go but progress remains barely discernible. Like a gushing oil well in the Gulf of Mexico, the toxic results just keep on coming. With thanks to The Guardian:
What to do? There seems little doubt England are now heading for another wounding series defeat in the southern hemisphere, where the locals react to similar strife with ruthless simplicity. Shape up or ship out is the antipodean mantra, a state of mind which galvanises coaches and players alike. With New Zealand, Australia, Samoa and South Africa all heading to Twickenham this autumn, Johnson is accelerating towards the point of no return. Barring a drastic improvement, his team could easily enter World Cup year in 2011 having failed to win eight of their previous nine Tests.
It is not a totally lost cause. England have the most promising young prop in the world in Dan Cole, a reliable scourge of callow opposition. Ben Youngs, Ben Foden and Chris Ashton are all made of the right stuff, Tom Croft is a respected Test Lion and Andrew Sheridan, Tom Rees and Matt Mullan are all sitting at home. But as weekend results proved yet again, there is no point European sides ignoring the gap in class and execution between the hemispheres. The June chasm – and congratulations to Scotland and Andy Robinson for defying the trend with their win over Argentina on Saturday – is as wide as ever.
Clear-eyed honesty and no little humility are now called for. Serious doubts, for a start, exist as to whether the England management are doing more than leading the squad ever deeper into the quicksands of mediocrity. Johnson has struggled as a visionary selector from day one, but the biggest frustration is the number of players who are failing to develop in an England shirt.
Watch Danny Care, for example, in action for Harlequins and you see instinct and pace in abundance. When he plays for England he appears frozen with self-doubt. Contrast that with Quade Cooper, Will Genia, James O’Connor and David Pocock. None is older than 22 and yet all of them ooze authority. If Danny Cipriani were Australian, you suspect the have-a-go culture would suit him too.
England have been ordinary for too long, under too many individuals, for it to be entirely Johnson’s fault. At least one of the coaches has been heard to mutter about silk purses and sow’s ears and the players should take some responsibility. You wonder again to what extent the raft of overseas players in decision-making roles in the Premiership is affecting the development of English talent.
But then you watch England warming up before games and note the army of specialists and consultants all imparting essential advice while the Wallabies are quietly attended by just a couple of trainers. This England set-up is a track-suited Tower of Babel. They look over-coached, over-trained and over-manned, not merely over-rated.
How much longer will it be before someone in a position of influence makes the link between the obsessive pre-game kicking practice of Jonny Wilkinson and Toby Flood and the creative desert that is the English midfield? How long before Johnson bangs his fist on the team-room table and asks why so few forwards exude the passion he does? Those close to him say he is fully aware results have to improve soon. His loyalty to his assistants, though, is such he would instinctively prefer to take the rap rather than be forced to sack his mates.
The Rugby Football Union, in that event, would be wholly culpable. Those who dispensed with Brian Ashton in less-than-glorious circumstances after reaching the 2007 World Cup final could not credibly remain if they jettison the novice manager they backed to sort everything out.
On the long flight across the country to Sydney, Johnson also had ample time to ponder his response to the anger he felt. Sad to report, the 36-year-old Simon Shaw’s days appear numbered at this level. If he is not going to last until the World Cup it is time to unleash Courtney Lawes in the second Test this Saturday, perhaps alongside the competitive Geoff Parling.
Scrummaging Australia into the ground and doing precious little around the park for a second week running is not an option. Lewis Moody looks weary and Nick Easter’s place is also in jeopardy, particularly on hard, fast grounds. What is the harm in seeing how Jon Golding, Rob Webber, Steffon Armitage, Dan Ward-Smith, Youngs, Shane Geraghty, Olly Barkley and even Dominic Waldouck respond to the test of character which now awaits?
This Wallabies team are maturing rapidly, their whole-hearted defence and knife-sharp running rendering their acute scrum problems almost irrelevant. Cooper, scorer of two sweet tries, is an irresistible pivot and a fit Genia and Matt Giteau will hope to turn the screw further under Rocky Elsom’s strong, silent leadership. Unless they can summon up dynamism, England risk another Rocky-inspired horror show.
With thanks to The Guardian
Johnson Warns His Players Of Misconduct
Martin Johnson watches the players.
England rugby boss Martin Johnson wants no repeats of the sex scandal that rocked their last tour Down Under, warning his players about the pitfalls that might await them in Australia and New Zealand.
England are about to undertake a five match tour that will see them based mainly in Australia but they will also play New Zealand Maori in Napier on June 23.
Two years ago four England players were caught in an ugly episode at the team’s Auckland hotel just hours after the side had lost to the All Blacks 37-20 at Eden Park.
Danny Care, David Strettle, Topsy Ojo and Mike Brown denied any wrongdoing but an investigation by the England union found Ojo and Brown guilty of misconduct.
That saga came on the eve of Johnson’s reign as England boss with Rob Andrew in a caretaker role in New Zealand and having to deal with sex allegations.
Now Johnson wants no repeats and is demanding high standards on the looming tour.
“We’ll be together for three and a half weeks in hostile territory, staying in different hotels and city centre locations,” Johnson told British media as the England squad of 44 players gathered in London.
“There will be distractions and potential areas to get embroiled in so we’ll need to be smart and look after each other.
“It’s the world we live in. There are pitfalls and some could be put there deliberately.
“Day-in, day-out the guys will face these pitfalls when they are out and about in big cities.
“I don’t think they will be targets but this is the world we live in. People have cameras on their phones these days …”
Johnsons said he hoped lessons have been learned following the Auckland embarrassment.
“The guys who were there have their own experiences. Now it’s telling them about what is expected and the potential pitfalls,” Johnson said,
“We have touched on it this week, although we’ve mainly kept discussions on the rugby.
“In the majority of these cases guys are in the wrong place at the wrong time.
“And because they are who they are, it grabs the headlines. If it was a member of the public, it wouldn’t even register.
“We’ll put in place the right measures and make the players aware. I want them to enjoy being a rugby player. Part of that is enjoying going out with your team-mates at the right time, in the right place and in the right way. They are under a lot of pressure and they’ve got to enjoy themselves. They have to be trusted.”
England play two tests against the Wallabies and midweek matches against Australia A before crossing the Tasman to be part of the New Zealand Maori centenary celebrations.
Courtesy of stuff.co.nz
See who might not be making the English tour of Australia.
England Pick Fourie And Barritt
Martin Johnson: Are you thinking what I'm thinking?
England rugby coach Martin Johnson has picked two South Africans in his latest squad – one in the first team to tour Australia and New Zealand, and one for England A.
Ex-Free State flanker Hendré Fourie (30) has been named to England’s 44-man squad to tour Down Under next month.
Of average height (1.84cm), but packing a punch at 108kg, Fourie left South Africa in 2007 and signed for the Rotherham Titans. Within a season, he was at Leeds, where he has become the protégé of famed England and World Cup-winning flanker Neil Back, who is now head coach.
Fourie made his England A debut this season, and by the end of the Six Nations, was training with Johnson’s elite squad.
“I’ve qualified through residency and I would definitely play if they wanted me,” Fourie told BBC Radio Leeds. “South Africa didn’t want me when I played there, so if England selected me I’d be honoured.”
“I’ve signed the papers to say am I now an English player and not a foreigner in the team. If they want to pick me, they can and I’d certainly be keen to play. It would be hard to play against the Springboks, but if they ring me up then I will play. I think I’m a better player now than when the South Africa selectors were looking at me five years ago, so we’ll see.”
Brad Barritt, the Sharks’ former kingpin centre, has also made rapid progress in his adopted country, being named to the England A (Saxons) squad to play in the Churchill Cup in North America.
When Barritt’s Bok ambitions were thwarted by incumbents Jean de Villiers, Adi Jacobs and Jaque Fourie, he moved to Saracens, where, under ex-Bok Brendan Venter, he has seen his profile soar.
The Sharks’ midfield, in contrast, has never been the same since, and retreaded fullback Stefan Terblanche now wears the No.13 jersey.
Although it seems he’s been around forever, Barritt has a long international career ahead of him… he’s only 23.
Six Nations In Brief
Wales vs Italy in the Six Nations.
The country went from the high of beating Scotland to away defeats in Paris and Cardiff, the schedule not really giving them a chance to kick on, while the centre went from his opening games, when he was unstoppable, to being put in his place by a quite inspired Mike Tindall.
Who’d have thought it?
There’s no doubting the spirit of Italy.
As long as they have the Bergamasco boys it seems they will go down snapping at their opponents, even if their limbs have been removed. Or rather, because their limbs have been removed. I quite like the notion of a pair of Bergamasco dentures chasing Wales off the park.
With the game long lost, Mirco went for Mike Phillips who, luckily, is one of the game’s more stoical characters (not), while Mauro drove in from the side of a ruck and upended James Hook.
I know we are meant to tut-tut and say how irresponsible it all is, but I thought there was something noble about the brothers’ indomitable spirit.
France plodded across their grand slam line, appearing very English alongside England who were positively French until the rain fell.
Unfortunately, this was not long into the first half and it was the kicking game of France that kept them in the right areas of the field to deny Jonny Wilkinson from a drop at goal.
His one penalty, the single score of the second half, was a thing of beauty and the whole England performance, in isolation, would have been interpreted as encouraging were it not for the fact that it was the end part of a sequence.
Perhaps the only thing it revealed more clearly than the one-off performance of Tindall was that Martin Johnson might end up with a winning team in spite of his selection methods.
It’s all very well saying that the right to wear an England shirt has to be earned the hard way, or at least the expensive way – there being no such thing as a cheap cap – but it really shouldn’t have been too exacting to sit down a little sooner and suggest that Ben Foden might be given a go.
Johnson’s stubbornness, like the Bergamascos’, is a quality, but it does require a bit of refining.
Somebody is going to have to introduce the England manager to the notion of compromise. Good luck to the Acas rep who lands that brief.
If England didn’t quite manage to upset France’s grand slam Scotland rained on Ireland’s triple crown parade at Croke Park. This wasn’t quite the farewell to the stadium that Ireland had planned.
But the Scottish lineout was majestic, confirming its place at the top of the efficiency league in the Six Nations, and Johnnie Beattie underlined his place as a most forceful runner.
Anybody that upstaged Imanol Harinordoquy as a No8 had quite a championship.
The result showed that between Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England – and I’m going to throw France in too because England and Wales could both have beaten the grand slammers – there is precious little.
This means that either we are all milling around in our own pool of European development without finding the outlet that leads to the greater waters of the Southern Ocean, or it shows that we are sort of swirling our way forward in some sort of waltz, bodies spinning upwards or being twirled back, but generally progressing.
The Six Nations is a pond or a barn dance.
Courtesy of The Guardian
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