Johnson relishes ideal test against ‘desperate’ Ireland

MARTIN JOHNSON has labelled Ireland “desperate” as he brings his England side to Dublin for their final World Cup warm-up game.

Declan Kidney’s side have been the subject of fierce criticism after losing all three warm-up games ahead of the tournament in New Zealand.

England have been in mixed form, though beating Wales at Twickenham before losing to the same opposition in Cardiff has shaken confidence as both teams prepare to depart to the southern hemisphere.

But Johnson has drawn parallels with England’s visit to the Aviva Stadium in March, when their Grand Slam hopes were dashed as Ireland convincingly beat the Red Rose 24-8.

Then, Ireland had lost to France and Wales while narrowly beating Scotland and Italy, before raising their game against Johnson’s men. And the World Cup-winning skipper of 2003 is expecting more of the same tomorrow.

“It will be equally as tough as it was in March as they are in a similarly desperate position in some ways, having not won their games,” said Johnson.

“They outplayed us and it’s good for us to go back there as normally you have to wait two years for that [an opportunity to get revenge on the same ground].

“I don’t know how much flak they’ve had as I don’t read their media, but if you lose three games in a row you will be desperate for a win. But that’s good. We don’t want to ease into the World Cup, we want to play opposition that is as good as we can get.

“They have been the best team in Europe over the last four or five years in terms of consistency, so that’s why we chose the game.”

And Johnson warned Ireland’s midfield combination of Gordon D’Arcy and Keith Earls they will have a job containing Mike Tindall and Manu Tuilagi, who astonishingly are the 13th centre pairing in just 35 Tests since the 41-year-old was appointed England coach in 2008.

“My feeling is that this midfield combination will be very exciting,” added Johnson, who also handed veteran Jonny Wilkinson the fly-half jersey ahead of Toby Flood.

“We’re picking the right team for the opposition, what the game is and where we are, as we will throughout the tournament.

“We trust all these guys. I’d take 29 [to the World Cup] if I didn’t trust 30. I’ve got no qualms with playing anyone.”