RFU place faith in Johnno as World Cup looms

Martin Johnson has been assured his standing will continue to be free from interference from the offices at RFU HQ. That’s a very good thing, says Ralph Ellis

It is seven years since Sir Clive Woodward walked away from his role as manager of England’s rugby union team. He had won the World Cup, but, incredibly, was still having to do battle every day with the bigwigs at Twickenham to get both the resources and power he wanted to go on running the team.

Woodward tired of the fight and walked away to try his hand as a soccer manager (where he quickly learned that when it comes to interference there’s no organisation on earth worse than a football club).

Anyway, maybe, just maybe, his final action in quitting the RFU has left a legacy worth having. Because this morning comes news that current boss Martin Johnson has been assured his standing will continue to be free from interference from the offices at HQ.

It seems that applicants for the new role of performance director have been sent a detailed job description of their proposed role. Up until the level of England Saxons it covers total responsibility for all aspects of team and player development. But above that the new man will be employed only to make the occasional cup of tea, and even then only if Johnno asks him to.

It’s a big step forward as the World Cup looms closer. England have put their faith so squarely in Johnson it would be stupid to undermine him now. It was a brave decision to put him in charge back in April of 2008 when he had no coaching experience. He’s been learning as he goes along, and been given backing at times when it seemed scarcely deserved.

The policy has shown signs of working. He’s taken a team to Australia and won in Sydney, he’s beaten the Aussies again at home, and won the Six Nations, even if the dream of a Grand Slam was ended in Dublin. So there’s momentum, and the RFU would have been silly to slow it down.

England are [12.0] to win the World Cup, and in fairness it is hard to argue with the Betfair punters who make the hosts [1.85] favourites. But the progress Johnson has made still suggests his team ought to be nearer to the [8.0] you can get for South Africa. He’s mirrored much of the work Sir Clive did before 2003, finding young players of flair and aggression like Northampton’s Tom Wood, who was last night awarded the Aviva Premiership’s Player of the Season prize.

Wood will miss Northampton’s efforts in the play-offs after collecting a hairline fracture of the right fibula. That rather underlines how Johnson still needs a bit of luck with injuries when the World Cup rolls round.

What he didn’t need was anybody – even if Sir Clive himself had got the job and come back – telling him what to do. Who knows? The power battle that Johnno has just fought, and won, might turn out to be his most significant step. Five things you might not know about Tom Wood 1. Born November 1986 in Coventry, his dad Andy and uncle Gary were key players in the local Barkers Butts rugby side which broke into the National Leagues in the early 1990s. 2. Younger brother Rob is a promising star too – he’s on the books of Worcester’s academy. 3. He was inspired by Martin Johnson’s autobiography aged 18 to follow the England manager’s footsteps by taking several months out to play in the New Zealand amateur season. He did farm labouring jobs to pay his own way. He also briefly ran a DIY store 4. He met his Kiwi partner Sarah during that time – they now have a two-year-old son 5. He also learned how to surf in New Zealand, and spends his leisure time now in Newquay

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July 11, 2011 • Tags: Rfu, Rfu Place • Posted in: Betting Posts

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