Precision sets ABs apart, says Johnson
England rugby great Martin Johnson has the answer to why the All Blacks are so successful and he's spreading the word ahead of the Lions series in New Zealand.
Johnson lifted the Rugby World Cup trophy in 2003 after leading England to their only World Cup success and was part of the last British and Irish Lions side to beat the All Blacks.
The former England and Lions lock played in the second test 20- 7 victory over the All Blacks in 1993. He returned to Wellington 10 years later to lead England to a famous win at Westpac Stadium. In an interview with the British
Telegraph, Johnson says the All Blacks just don't make silly errors..
“I say to kids all the time: ‘ What do the All Blacks do differently to everyone else?' There isn't an answer to that. Everyone sees what they do, and invariably people always try to copy successful stuff,” Johnson said.
“They just do what they do very well. They don't make glaring, silly errors. Often in rugby, someone will do something slightly wrong, which leads to the next man being a bit more wrong, which leads to an error. The All Blacks don't do that first bit, so the second bit works and the third bit works well.
“If you're not making errors, you are not taking the pressure off teams. Eventually they do make a mistake, and then the All Blacks capitalise — those are what people call ‘ the basics', the fundamentals of the game. But the All Blacks execute them all the time, under pressure. Bang, bang, bang.”
Johnson played eight tests for the Lions from 1993 to 2001 before retiring from rugby at the end of England's 2003 World Cup campaign.
Johnson faced the All Blacks on nine occasions during his career and played in four victories over New Zealand.
He said that if the Lions do the basics right, then the series against the All Blacks could come down to some individual brilliance.
“Whatever you do against them, you have to do it so well that it puts them under pressure. If two teams are doing that, it might come down to someone with a bit of X- factor finding something.” —