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Martin Johnson says England must avoid giving Scotland the “scent of victory” in the final 15 minutes of their crunch Six Nations encounter at Murrayfield on Saturday.
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England’s Grand Slam credentials will receive a stern test in the Calcutta Cup clash in Edinburgh against a team fancied as pre-tournament contenders for the championship.
Scotland were thrashed 34-7 by Wales in Cardiff in their tournament opener but overturned a 10-point deficit to defeat France 32-26 last time out.
World Cup-winning captain and ex-head coach Johnson has urged England to put the game to bed to avoid suffering the same fate as Les Bleus.
Johnson, speaking at the launch of the inaugural Velo South at the London Bike Show, told Omnisport: “You look at Scotland the last time they played, the last 15 minutes they looked very, very strong.
“They had the scent of victory there and the crowd and the players were suddenly bigger and they probably played their best rugby in the last 15 minutes. If you’re England you don’t want to be in that position.
“Whenever England play anyone they want to beat them, the opposition want to beat them, Scotland, Wales, France, Ireland, they all want to beat England so every game’s big, every game’s fought and won.”
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Excitement levels ? !!
? Hands up if you can't wait for this weekend of #NatWest6Nations pic.twitter.com/LFP88oJt4K
— NatWest 6 Nations (@SixNationsRugby) February 22, 2018
The last round of fixtures sees England host Ireland at Twickenham in what many see as a potential championship and Grand Slam decider.
That scenario remains on the cards, but Johnson thinks the unpredictable nature of the tournament – as evidenced by Wales’ defeat of Scotland – means nothing can be taken for granted.
“Wales go to Ireland with not a lot of pressure on them and that can make them dangerous. This tournament is far more to me a set of individual games than it is a tournament,” he added.
“You almost can’t tell from week to week. The games are so big, I always used to treat it as separate games, not really connected to the week before, the year before, you’ve just got to get over what’s in front of you.
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“The world changed after the first week a little bit, it changed again after the second week and it’ll change again after the third week.
“Maybe at the start people were saying Ireland, if they could win away in Paris, would probably get to Twickenham unbeaten but we’ll see. I think Wales have surprised a few people, played very well, it makes all the games exciting, I think you wouldn’t be fully confident of predicting the results at the weekend.”
Martin Johnson CBE is riding the inaugural Velo South – a brand new 100 mile closed road sportive for the UK, held on 23rd September 2018. Pre-registrations close midnight 28th February 2018: www.velosouth.com
Comments on RugbyPass
A wallaby front-row of Bell, Blake and Tupou…now that would be hefty
1 Go to comments“But with an exceptional pass accuracy rating “ Which apart from Roigard is not a feature of any of the other 9s in NZ. Kind of basic for a Black 9 dont.you. think? Yet we keep seeing FC and TJ being rated ahead of him? Weird if it’s seen as vital to get our backline beating in your face defences.
1 Go to commentsThanks BeeMc! Looks like many teams need extra time to settle from the quadrennial northern migration. I think generally the quality of the Rugby has held up. Fiji has been fantastic and fun to watch
13 Go to commentsLets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
11 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
10 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
11 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
24 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
10 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
35 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
35 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
17 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to comments