“Poster boy of penalties,” – Martin Johnson selects England pack with Maro Itoje benched
Rugby NewsSaturday, 01 July 2023 at 07:46
Martin Johnson has ripped up England’s pack ahead of the 2023 Rugby World Cup, suggesting new boss Steve Borthwick should make a number of big changes.
His former coach Johnson, who famously led England to the World Cup as captain in 2003, suggested making a number of significant changes to the pack at a recent speaking engagement.
MARTIN JONHSON'S ENGLAND PACK:
FRONT-ROW:
1. Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears)
2.
Jamie George (Saracens)3. Kyle Sinckler (Bristol Bears)
Final whistle celebrations for Ellis Genge of England Rugby, Kyle Sinckler of England Rugby and Joe Marler of England Rugby after the Six Nations Championship match between England and Wales at Twickenham Stadium, Twickenham, London on February 26th 2021. - PHOTO: Phil Mingo/PPAUK
SECOND -ROW:
4 Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers) for Maro Itoje (Saracens)
5. Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints) for David Ribbans (Northampton Saints)
“Maro’s the poster boy of penalties,’ said Johnson, who was speaking to the Mail Online.
“I was doing the England coaching job when he was coming through at Saracens. The guys there, like Paul Gustard, rated him very highly as a player and a leader.”
Johnson continued: “He’s a very good player and he can be very effective at turning balls over, charging balls down. He’s just got to dial it back one degree and make sure he’s squeaky clean. Unless it’s 100 per cent on, he’s just got to leave it. It’s risk-reward.
“He’s got to realise that referee is looking at him particularly hard and he’s got to hold back a little bit.
Woodward wants Maro Itoje back in the second-row
“If you keep getting penalised, do refs look at you a little bit harder? Yeah, they probably do,’ said Johnson, a Land Rover ambassador.
“England have been getting penalised consecutively at the start of games — and then the writing is on the wall. It’s been refereed on the stricter side and referees are looking for things.
“You’ve just got to choose when to go in and compete. It’s the hand in the cookie jar thing.”
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BACK-ROW:
6. Tom Curry (Sale Sharks) for Lewis Ludlam (Northampton Saints)
7. Jack Willis (Toulouse
8. Billy Vunipola (Saracens) for Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins)
Billy Vunipola of England in possession ahead of Kazuki Himeno of Japan during the Autumn International Series match between England and Japan at Twickenham Stadium, Twickenham, London on Saturday 12th November 2022 | Photo: James Fearn/PPAUK.
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