By Julian Guyer
November 9th 2009 @ 7:17am


ADVERTISEMENT
View The Roar's top rugby union writers.
Super 14 Tipping now live on The Roar. Join now.

Related coverage

Johnson upbeat after Australia loss

England manager Martin Johnson welcomed the return to international rugby of Jonny Wilkinson and predicted better days ahead for his side despite an 18-9 defeat by Australia here at Twickenham.

England were leading until the hour mark in Saturday’s match but, after a solid start, the truth was they had been hanging on since half-time.

Five-eighth Wilkinson kicked all of England’s points but grand slam-chasing Australia scored the game’s only tries through halfback Will Genia, the man-of-the-match, and full-back Adam Ashley-Cooper.

Injuries had deprived Johnson of 12 members of his senior squad in the build-up to this match and, in his words, they were facing a “battle-hardened” Australia team, albeit one that had lost six of its previous seven Tests against Tri-Nations rivals South Africa and New Zealand.

But England rarely looked like scoring a try and the worry for home fans was that even though a midfield of Shane Geraghty and Dan Hipkiss would not have been Johnson’s first pick, it was hard to imagine a choice he would have made, if given a free hand, that would have been significantly more effective.

However, Johnson, with Argentina due at Twickenham a week on Saturday, said: “We will tweak what needs to be tweaked and hopefully we will be better for it next week.”

Both of Australia’s tries might have been prevented, with Genia catching England napping on the blindside at a ruck while Ashley-Cooper, with nine minutes to go, powered his way through a couple of attempted tackles.

“They weren’t great to give away, we came off our intensity a little bit,” said Johnson, who captained England to World Cup final glory against Australia back in 2003.

“The second-half, we struggled to get out of our half, and when we did we kicked away too much ball and invited pressure.

“But I said to the guys we were playing a battle-hardened team who’ve been playing the best two teams in the world.

“We could have given ourselves a better chance…we could have made it easier for ourselves.”

This was Wilkinson’s first Test since March last year but Johnson, who saw the fly-half kick the drop-goal that won England the World Cup six years ago, was not surprised by his performance.

“Jonny is a world-class player. It’s fantastic to have him back and playing well,” said Johnson.

“What he’s been through has made him more experienced and has put him in a better stead. There’s still a lot to come from him. He’s only 30 and has missed a lot of rugby. He has tremendous presence.”

Wilkinson, rugby union’s record international points scorer, added: “Coming back here with the support and atmosphere, it’s amazing; it’s a fantastic feeling. That’s why it doesn’t feel like you’ve been away.

“It’s great to be back.”

Super 14 Tipping now live on The Roar. Join now.
Like this content? Buzz it up!

Free Email updates:

Our daily emails are only sent if there is content for the sport or that author. You can subscribe to multiple daily emails; or get the daily Roar email with all our content in it. We value privacy. More...


© 2008 AFP

 

Crowd Says (1)

  •   Boo Cheers

    common sense said  | November 9th 2009 @ 6:13pm | Report comment

    Is this articles headline a little oxymoronic? Or simply moronic?

    Wouldn’t it make for a pleasant world if more coaches could justify losses and/or sustaining their international contracts by maintaining an ‘upbeatness’? Granted the Poms, and Johnsons current lack of player depth, surely no player of his calibre could be too comfortable with the pool of mediocrity England are currently lurking in?

    Albeit, good to see the upbeat Johnson has a profound plan to ressurect the hopes of the English,
    “We will tweak what needs to be tweaked, and hopefully be better for it next week..”

    Will you Martin? Wow. Hey, given that you’re at the helm of what could become a perrenially underachieving rugby nation in the next few years, perhaps a career in poetry?

Have your Say

If you like this article, Subscribe! Subscribe to our daily email

Please be sure to enter your name and email before submitting this comment. Please also refer to our comments policy

 

Hot debate

What you're Roaring!

By signing up to the daily The Roar email you'll receive all the new articles and sports opinion that we put up on the website each day - delivered direct into your inbox. For free. We think it's the best way to receive our content.

Our emails contain the article along with the images - just like on the website.