Deans backs Johnson to shine in manager role
Deans was speaking at a press conference yesterday prior to the Cook Cup showdown with the old enemy at Twickenham today.
England’s World Cup-winning captain was head-hunted by the Rugby Football Union to replace Brian Ashton after last season’s RBS 6 Nations, despite having no senior coaching experience.
That did not dissuade the RFU, who gave him free reign to appoint new coaches and new back-room staff.
One of the tenets of Johnson’s leadership is his affirmed belief that rugby is “the players’ game” — it was only three years ago he was out on the training field — and that is where Deans feels he could have a vital edge.
“We have gone away from an era of being prescriptive to an era of allowing players to drive their own game because they are the blokes that have to own it,” Deans said.
“That will be interesting for Martin. He doesn’t have a huge background of coaching but he has a huge background in success.
“He will have ideas on how to achieve that. I am as interested as anybody in terms of how he goes about that.”
There is little to compare Johnson and Deans in coaching terms. Deans, a former All Blacks assistant coach under John Mitchell, led the Crusaders to seven Super finals and delivered five titles.
This weekend, he could quite easily have been in Dublin preparing New Zealand for their Test against Ireland. Deans was the favourite to be named All Blacks coach following the World Cup but the NZRU decided to keep faith with Graham Henry.
Australia pounced. Deans crossed the Tasman and enjoyed the ideal start to his international coaching career, with five straight wins including a sweet victory over the All Blacks in Sydney.
The Wallabies beat the Springboks twice and set up a winner-takes-all showdown for the Tri-Nations title with New Zealand, which they narrowly lost 28-24 in Brisbane.
Meanwhile Johnson called on England to bring the crowd to its feet.
England have won just 60% of their home internationals — 15 from 25 — since Johnson retired as captain after lifting the World Cup in 2003.
In the build-up to that triumph, England had beaten all-comers on a run of 22 straight wins at Twickenham dating back to the 1999 World Cup.
Johnson will lock horns with the Australians for the first time since lifting the Webb Ellis trophy, now as England’s new team manager.
The foundations for a new era were laid last weekend with a comfortable 39-13 victory over the Pacific Islanders but with Twickenham only two-thirds full it was a muted occasion.
Johnson wants to transform the old cabbage patch into an inhospitable venue once again — and he believes there are few better opportunities to rouse the natives than to beat the Wallabies at Twickenham.
“There is a difference this week and that feeling is in the squad. We are testing ourselves against one of the top three teams in the world,” said Johnson.
“Being an English rugby player, people generally want to beat you. There is a lot of history there and people want to win at Twickenham.
“It always gives them an edge — but you have to turn that around. You can be tactically smart but the great thing about rugby is that it is about passion and emotion.
“The players are very aware the pace and level of intensity will increase. We have got to affect the crowd and get them on their feet. We have got to lift them, not the other way around.”
Another destructive scrummaging performance from loose-head prop Andrew Sheridan — akin to those which wrecked the Australian scrum in 2005 and again in last year’s World Cup quarter-final — would do just that. The head-to-head showdown between Sheridan and his opposite number, Wallaby tight-head Al Baxter, has dominated the pre-match build-up.
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