socialmedian: Johnson frustrated by Australia triumph

Add News Flash

User-submitted headlines for this story

Clips

Johnson frustrated by Australia triumph

Source: guardian.co.uk Sport

Nov 07, 2009

Summary

• Manager admits England were not as slick as Wallabies
• 'I think the pace and intensity of the Test told'

Martin Johnson is not a verbose man at the best of times, and yesterday was definitely not the best of times. Faced with the task of explaining another defeat, and another lacklustre performance from his team, Johnson fell back on some familiar phrases. But then England's were familiar problems.

"I've just said to the guys that Australia were the more battle-hardened team," Johnson explained after the 18-9 defeat. "They've come out of the Tri Nations and it showed. They were probably a little bit slicker than us, possibly a little bit more used to the pace of Test matches.
"That's the first time that team has really played together. I think the pace and intensity of the Test told, right through the group," Johnson admitted when asked why his side had faded so badly in the second half after dominating the opening quarter. "Even with guys like Thommo [Steve Thompson] who were starting their first Test match in two or three years."

The frown he wore on his face

...Read the full article

Comments (0)

Add Your Comment