England manager Martin Johnson has warned his players to beware of the off-the-field pitfalls that could trap members of his squad during their tour to Australia and New Zealand.
England’s visit to New Zealand in 2008 was marred by allegations that four players were involved in the rape of a teenage barmaid in Auckland the night after the first of two Test matches against the All Blacks.
The woman involved did not make a formal complaint to the police against the quartet, who denied any wrongdoing, although two of the players – Topsy Ojo and Mike Brown – were found guilty of misconduct and reprimanded for staying out all night.
Johnson only officially took over as team manager a few weeks after that unsavoury incident and he immediately chose to hold a couple of team meetings to address disciplinary issues and tell his players what was expected of them.
And ahead of the first major overseas England tour since that ill-fated trip, Johnson admits his players have been told in no uncertain terms about the dangers going on tour can pose away from the pitch.
“It’s the world we live in – there are pitfalls,” Johnson said.
“Some could be put there deliberately. These are the pitfalls some guys have when they are out and about in big cities, that they have day in, day out. People have cameras on their phones these days.
“In the majority of these cases, guys are just in the wrong place at the wrong time. And because they are who they are, it grabs the headlines.
“There will be distractions and potential areas to get embroiled in so we’ll have to be smart and look after each other.”
Johnson maintained it would be the players’ responsibility to uphold the standard of behaviour expected of England internationals while out on tour.
“We’ll put in place the right measures and make them aware,” he said.
“But I want them to enjoy being a rugby player and 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 as it is, they’ve got to enjoy themselves. And they have to be trusted.
“Whether we actually refer to 2008 and get one of the guys to talk about it, we haven’t decided.”
Johnson will not only have off-the-field matters to think about on tour. On it, his team will come up against an Australian side packed with players who have impressed in the Super 14 this year.
Three of the four Australian teams involved in the competition finished in the top six in the table, while the national team finished last year in decent form by beating England and Wales on their November tour of Europe.
Their often-criticised scrum has looked the part in recent seasons and they have some exciting youngsters coming through just in time for next year’s World Cup in New Zealand.
“A lot of people wrote them off when they came here in November as not a great Australia team,” Johnson said.
“We pointed out then they have a lot of good young players. Two years out from the World Cup, they had some good results so they’re a pretty decent side.
“Some of those guys are getting better and better.”
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