However, Johnson is fully aware of the challenge that lays ahead and is relishing the opportunity to improve performances.

He commented, “It’s probably the toughest set of Test matches that any team I’ve ever been involved in has ever played. That’s the challenge in front of us and there’s no point trying to shirk it - it’s going to happen and we have to be ready.”

However, Johnson said he was disappointed by the England team’s conduct in New Zealand and such behaviour was unacceptable for the national side.

He commented, “The allegations made against the England team were serious - we can’t have that for our players, for our team, for our sport. It is not what we are about. The England team has never had it before and we should never have it again.”

“I’m aware of the perception of what I’m expected to bring to the job but ultimately it comes down to how well we play on the pitch.”

The club have had trouble finding a replacement for Lyn Jones and will head into the new season with assistant coaches Sean Holley and Jonathan Humphreys leading the side.

But Davies believes the set-up at Ospreys makes the job a less than enticing prospect. He commented, “Most coaches would come into a new job and want to be the main man. But at the Ospreys he will be coming in under (Ospreys Elite Performance Director) Andrew Hore, it’s a difficult position to enter into.”

The Gloucester centre picked up the injury on England’s ill-fated tour of New Zealand and is now struggling to be fit for the start of the new season.

Gloucester head coach Dean Ryan commented, “Olly requires this surgery to give him the best chance of being fit for the start of the Premiership season”.

The 40 year-old South African put pen to paper on a three year contract yesterday after agreeing to replace Marcelo Loffreda who was sacked back in June.

He commented, “I am humbled a club like Leicester has considered me. I am very thankful they have appointed me and I am looking forward to getting started. I have always thought that if I want to get back into rugby it must be with one of the best clubs in the world, and I truly believe Leicester Tigers are one of the best clubs.”

The Welsh international underwent surgery on his ankle in April after suffering an injury against Saracens in the Heineken Cup.

Originally, Henson had been optimistic about his chances of making it back in time for the start of the new season, but now looks to have admitted defeat.

Mike Tindall, Ben Kay and Joe Worsley are the most notable absentees but Dave Strettle and Nick Easter have also missed out with all five being relegated to the Saxons squad.

Charlie Hodgson has been dropped completely but Josh Lewsey returns to the squad along with James Simpson-Daniel.

The complete squad reads:

Forwards: Steve Borthwick (Saracens), George Chuter (Leicester), Jordan Crane (Leicester), Tom Croft (Leicester), Dylan Hartley (Northampton), James Haskell (Wasps), Nick Kennedy (London Irish), Lee Mears (Bath), Lewis Moody (Leicester), Luke Narraway (Gloucester), Tom Palmer (Wasps), Tim Payne (Wasps), Tom Rees (Wasps), Simon Shaw (Wasps), Andrew Sheridan (Sale), Matt Stevens (Bath), Phil Vickery (Wasps).

Backs: Olly Barkley (Gloucester), Danny Care (Harlequins), Harry Ellis (Leicester), Toby Flood (Leicester), Riki Flutey (Wasps), Shane Geraghty (London Irish), Dan Hipkiss (Leicester), Josh Lewsey (Wasps), Jamie Noon (Newcastle), Pete Richards (London Irish), Paul Sackey (Wasps), James Simpson-Daniel (Gloucester), Mathew Tait (Sale), Tom Varndell (Leicester), Jonny Wilkinson (Newcastle).

England Saxons squad:

Forwards: Steffon Armitage (London Irish), Richard Blaze (Leicester), Louis Deacon (Leicester), Nick Easter (Harlequins), Jack Forster (Gloucester), Tom Guest (Harlequins), Jason Hobson (Bristol), Chris Jones (Sale), Ben Kay (Leicester), Michael Lipman (Bath), David Paice (London Irish), George Skivington (Wasps), Andy Titterrell (Gloucester), Joe Ward (Wasps), David Wilson (Newcastle), Nick Wood (Gloucester) Joe Worsley (Wasps).

Backs: Nick Abendanon (Bath), Anthony Allen (Gloucester), Matt Banahan (Bath), Mike Brown (Harlequins), Danny Cipriani (Wasps), Ben Foden (Northampton), Andy Goode (Leicester), Paul Hodgson (London Irish), Ryan Lamb (Gloucester), Ugo Monye (Harlequins), Topsy Ojo (London Irish), David Strettle (Harlequins), Mike Tindall (Gloucester), Dominic Waldouck (Wasps), Richard Wigglesworth (Sale).

Rugby is the number one sport in Wales and they constantly pack out the Millennium Stadium with fans sporting the Wales rugby shirt.

The latest Wales rugby shirt is a really simple design that works really well, but doesn’t exactly breath fire like you might expect from the Dragons. It’s manufactured by Reebok who don’t actually make that many shirts for teams in any sport these days.

I like the piping that runs along the top of the chest to the arms and the simple white collar. However, the whole thing is cheapened by the ‘Brains Beer’ logo across the front of the shirt. Why does an international rugby team need a shirt sponsor? Surely they’re not that desperate for money that they need to auction of their shirts. National football teams don’t do it, so why should rugby? For me it just takes some of the national pride away from Wales rugby shirts and other shirts that have a sponsor.

The material of this Wales rugby shirt is more like a football shirt actually and I wonder whether it will tear easily in matches. For the rugby supporter though, this isn’t a bad shirt at all and if you’re just wearing it to shout on the Welsh team then it’s worth investing in.

Buy Wales Rugby Shirts - We have listed the best retailers of Wales rugby shirts on the internet to get you the cheapest deals available.

USA Eagles Rugby Shirt - £49.99

Rugby isn’t big in the USA and will never compete with the ‘Big 4′ sports but USA eagles rugby shirts can be spotted wherever you go, so someone must be watching!

Manufactured by Kooga, these rugby shirts have bucked the trend of many conventional modern international rugby shirts, which is very apt for the USA rugby team.

The red, white and blue of the famous flag have been integrated into this USA Eagle shirt in a very unique way with a plain red body and decorated white and blue arms.

The simple collar is a nice addition to a very busy shirt. There’s no doubting that this is a love it or hate it kind of rugby shirt but for some reason that I can’t figure out - I actually like it.

Buy USA Eagle rugby shirts: We’ve done some research to find the cheapest place to buy USA Eagles rugby shirts to save you the time and effort of looking.