Losing to Scotland might benefit England in the long run, insists former skipper Johnson
A FRIEND’S wedding saved Martin Johnson from the humiliation of being at Murrayfield in 2000. Rather than watch from the stands, the injured second row picked up the result on a radio at the back of the church. It was England’s only defeat by Scotland during Johnson’s 10-year international career — and it changed everything. ‘I heard the result at the service and suddenly the world changes,’ said Johnson. ‘Before that game, certain people were saying I should never play for England again. They’d written me off. By Monday morning, they were saying, “Why didn’t he play?” A lot can change in 80 minutes.’ The rest was history. Johnson recovered from his injury and went on to lift the World Cup as captain in 2003. Over the course of 80 minutes at Murrayfield last Saturday, England faced a similar swing in perceptions after their second defeat in 26 games under Eddie Jones. The argument goes that England have plateaued. ‘It will be a horrible two weeks for the players,’ says Johnson. ‘It’s pretty obvious what needs doing. There’s no point talking tactics and game plans if you’re getting beaten for intensity, determination and urgency; that trumps everything.’ Victory in Paris is essential to swing perceptions — otherwise England’s aura will quickly evaporate. The Grand Slam hunt has collapsed into a salvage operation and France will now be out to land a double blow — to give their own stuttering campaign some much needed credibility. ‘England could go on an unbeaten run from now until the World Cup and say, “Losing to Scotland was the best thing that ever happened to us”. If they have a run of three defeats, everyone will be selling their stock in England for the World Cup. Sometimes it’s not a bad thing to go into the World Cup undercover. ‘Everyone wants to wring their hands but people will be talking very differently if they blow France away. The world is always different by Monday morning.’