News: Under-pressure Martin Johnson admits Twickenham boo-boys were right

Under-pressure England manager Martin Johnson admitted his faltering team deserved to be booed by the Twickenham crowd after their turgid 16-9 win against Argentina.

“It was difficult to watch,” he said. “At times the crowd had every right not to be happy. A lot of them kept with us and that was great. We will have to be a lot better than that next week,” he told journalists afterwards.

Johnson was blunt in his assessment of a performance that was littered with unforced errors. “We were our own worst enemies. Guys don’t mean to make errors, but it’s the pressure and tension of Test rugby,” added Johnson.

Having gone down 12-19 to Australia and now struggled against an Argentina side shorn of Juan Martin Fernandez, Juan Leguizamon and Felipe Contepomi, England now face the mighty All Blacks next weekend.

It is a frightening prospect given their current form and Johnson, who captained England to World Cup glory in 2003, will know that better than most.

His former colleague Mike Catt has urged Johnson to urge a more free-flowing approach, especially after Saturday’s error-strewn kick-fest, but the England manager is unlikely to throw off the team’s defence-oriented tactics against New Zealand.

Johnson is facing mounting disquiet over England’s perceived lack of progress under their former skipper. To date his teams have managed just six wins from 13 games under his stewardship and no discernible game plan has yet emerged.

The ex-Leicester man may be a legend in English rugby but his lack of coaching credentials is now being openly questioned by some sections of the English media. In his defence Johnson can point to a catalogue of injuries that are hampering his plans, but the stark contrast between the dynamism displayed by France against South Africa and England’s sluggish performance against Argentina is genuine cause for concern.

Picking players out of position is a gamble which France coach Marc Lièvremont is happy to undertake, but England winger Ugo Monye had a nightmare first-half at full-back before being switched – further grist to the anti-Johnson brigade.

But England’s major current problem – as with all struggling sides – is a lack of confidence. “You have errors in decision-making, which will always happen – guys aren’t perfect – and you get nerves – guys know how important it is – and once you get in that cycle it can go through a team,” Johnson admitted.

“There were a few nerves around earlier on and we probably kicked away a bit of ball we could have played with, and we didn’t handle their high ball at times. And when we did build momentum it was quickly snuffed out with an error,” he added.

Although pleased to have at least got the win he was frank in his message. “It a game like today, in wet, windy, blustery conditions, it’s about execution, which we didn’t do well enough at times. I can’t defend some of the things that happened on the field,” he said.

Argentina captain Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe admitted England had played to type, making easier for his team to prepare. “We analysed how England were going to play and it didn’t surprise us,” he said afterwards.

“In a way we are happy, we are satisfied. We said we should play our gameplan, give everything and put England under pressure,” he added. “We did that. Our defence was really, really good. I am just disappointed that from one little mistake we ended up losing the game. This is the standard we have set for ourselves.”

Perhaps his most telling comment, though, was that “it will be even tougher at the Millennium Stadium”, in reference to their forthcoming game against Wales. “They have a lot of good players, good impact players, and we have to raise the bar,” added Lobbe.

Johnson will take heart that England finally managed to scramble a win and he certainly can’t be held responsible for individual errors. Even Jonny Wilkinson suffered a rare off day, missing two penalty kicks to touch and three attempts at goal as the Twickenham crowd squirmed. The Toulon fly-half did, however, still go into the record books as he overtook Wales’ Neil Jenkins (1,049pts) for the most points scored for an international team.

Perhaps nerves did stifle England’s creative urge, but where does that leave their prospects against the All Blacks? I guess it depends on your disposition really. You could curl up into a ball and get yourself terrified at the prospect of a public mauling, or you could go in with the attitude of nothing to lose. No one will really be expecting England to win against New Zealand, which could prove a liberating experience for Johnson and his squad.