Geech backs under-fire Johnson
13 Jun 2010
Ian McGeechan says despite a poor record as England coach, Martin Johnson should still take the side to the World Cup.
In his first job as a coach, Johnson has found it a tough transition from a player. After their 27-17 loss to Australia on Saturday, he’s been in charge for 22 Tests, of which the side has won eight, lost 13 and drawn one.
Previous coach Brian Ashton took the side to the World Cup final and ended with a record of won 12 and lost 10 after 22 Tests, but was still fired.
McGeechan however, still says Johnson should stay in charge.
‘I don’t think there should be any question – I rate Martin very highly in that regard and in that area within international rugby,’ McGeechan told the BBC. ‘He has got the team through to the World Cup and we should be looking at getting the group stabilised and established.
‘He hasn’t had the best of luck at times with injuries – he had a lot of injuries for the November internationals.
‘I think it is a matter of knowing which are his real starting core players, which I think Martin will be trying to achieve now and in the November series.’
Ashton says the players should also be blamed for the dire record.
‘When you take on a job like this you understand the pressures that come with it,’ said Ashton. ‘Obviously he will be disappointed with what has happened yesterday and maybe what has happened over the last 12 months or so.
‘I’m sure he is working hard and his coaching team are working hard to put things right.
‘It’s all very well saying he is under pressure, but now is the time – always is the time – for players to stand up and take some responsibility as well, because they are the guys who actually play the game.’
21 Comments
13 Jun 2010, 19:53 pm
how much longer though?
13 Jun 2010, 19:59 pm
LOL They need to lower their expectations,
13 Jun 2010, 20:09 pm
hahaha…bloody poms…
13 Jun 2010, 20:29 pm
@grant10(grant10)-1: he’s there until the World Cup (perhaps longer depending on how things go).
13 Jun 2010, 21:14 pm
its too late to replace him now in any case with rwc just round the corner, but what on earth were the RU thinking giving this job to a coaching rookie?
13 Jun 2010, 22:19 pm
I honestly thought he’d get the best out of English players because of the respect the man of his stature commands in rugby circles. Oh well. I’m still traumatised by having English world champions so keep it up (er, down).
13 Jun 2010, 22:48 pm
I also thought it was a bold experiment which England took. So far it has not paid off but one thing is for sure that they were not complete pushovers for Australia.
Just unlucky they have so few stars in their team. Most of the ones they have are way past their sell by date. Albeit dont write England off just yet.
13 Jun 2010, 23:01 pm
8 wins out of 22, whilst predictable is still woeful. A collossal mistake by a bunch of inbred, gin-soaked pedants.
This Aussie team lacked 9 first team regulars, including the 2 excellent props.
Bradley Barritt is 3 times the player Toby Flood is, in any position.
Johnson must go immediately, there is still time before RWC. He should have the guts to do it, he certainly had that as a player.
14 Jun 2010, 00:14 am
Shame, the arrogant Poms think they should consistently be the best side in the world. I guess they will hire and fire many more coaches before it eventually dawn on theme that 2003 was a fluke result – proven by the speed by which English rugby imploded after all the euphoria (knighthood for Sir Woodward et al).
The cherry on the cake will be if the Poms fail to make it to the quarters next year. A real though a little far-fetch possibility with the Argies and Scots in the same pool as England.
14 Jun 2010, 00:43 am
@Hier kom groot k..(Hier kom groot k..)-9: hardly a fluke result, we dominated for three years including 6 straight wins over the Boks. Test rugby goes in cycles and with the game growing here year on year and the youth teams flourishing it’s only a matter of time.
@SodaJoe(SodaJoe)-8: Barritt’s a good player but he’s no flyhalf, he’s better than Hape at centre.
14 Jun 2010, 00:46 am
It is actually no real surprise that Martin Johnson is struggling.
Prior to being appointed this position (which is one of the biggest rugby coaching jobs in the world) he had effectively no coaching experience. It takes years to develop effective coaching skills. I still find his appointment amazing.
It would be like john smith retiring from SA rugby then a couple of years later (without any club, currie cup or super 14 experience) being appointed head SA coach.
Solely being a good player and leader on the field does not automatically make you one of the best coaches around.
14 Jun 2010, 00:50 am
@southernman(southernman)-11: I read on keo that John Smit was the coach and senior players were his coaching team
14 Jun 2010, 00:50 am
England are rubbish,but Johnson is even worse.No proven coaching record at ANY level.just a sh*t load of endorsement from who’s who in NH coaching fraternity(Geech/Woodward/Andrew) who all had close relationship with him as coach/teammate etc
Biggest downfall is tactical naivety/flawed selection policy/inabilty to adapt to change.
Tight 5 is decent but need some athleticism.lack dynamism in loose trio as well.backline is worst of Top 8 unions.
Would make following changes:
6.Croft
7.Lewsey(c)
8.Haskell
9.Care
10.Wilko
11.Strettle
12.Barrit
13.Tait
14.Ashton
15.Armitage
14 Jun 2010, 00:55 am
that’s why Cheetahs are kak.no real proffersional coaching team/management with no real experience.
-Drotske(fckall)
-Hawies Fourie(???)
-Helgard Muller(???)
14 Jun 2010, 01:38 am
Johnson and Ashton made the same mistake. The proven pattern when taking over a failing international team is to gather a team of very young guys with lots of potential and then pull in one or two older campaigners for leadership purposes. Then tell everyone it’ll take time. Maintain continuity of selection for several years. And celebrate when your team of young players beats anyone at all. When the average number of caps is about 35 you will have a team that can win consistently.
How much worse would England’s record have been if they had been playing Cipriani, Geraghty, Tait, Armitage, et al for every match? They would each have an incremental 20 caps by now. And settled combinations. And a few big scalps.
That is a team I would enjoy watching.
14 Jun 2010, 01:41 am
Wiah don’t jump the gun. Cheetahs have appeared in 4 Currie Cup finals in the last 10 and have won 3 of those appearances with 2 under Naka’s tenure.
The Cheetahs failure to perform seems to stem more from a mental perspective or “not pitching up”. During home games the Cheetahs have taken down a few teams during this year’s s14 which was incidently their best season.
14 Jun 2010, 04:46 am
Johnson clearly hasn’t a foggy clue about coaching and it once again proves that a great player doesn’t automatically translate into being an even halfway decent coach.
14 Jun 2010, 05:09 am
12. Big Hit(Big Hit)
Hahaha
Yes for a quite a while PdV couldn’t do anything right (lose = poor mangement; win = senior players doing his job).
14 Jun 2010, 08:06 am
Johnson has no clue how to select a team. I just cant see England improving unless he decideds to overhaul his squad. He has selected a bunch of has beens and never will be’s.
14 Jun 2010, 19:17 pm
partizan
False.Cheetahs haven’t won CC under Drotske.Rassie was coach when they won CC in 2005 and shared one with Sharks in 2006.Cheetahs won CC in 2007,Sharks won in 2008,Bulls 2009.
Drotske took over coaching reigns in CC 2007.thus won CC once with him as “coach”,4months removed from Rassie reign.
Cheetahs side least disrupted at start of CC with least amount of Boks in the past,much like Lions in 2007-that’s why those 2 had great starts to campaigns.Lions are dogsh*t nw
Cheetahs will start CC well once again,lose when it matters
14 Jun 2010, 19:37 pm
Replace Martin with Jake White, he’ll lead England to the World Cup Glory over the Boks
Best coach ever… LOL
Have your say
You must be logged in to post a comment.