Boris keen on staging World Cup

Boris Johnson believes that London and England in general would be the perfect location for the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

The RFU have submitted an application to stage the competition and the new mayor of London has offered his full support for the campaign.

He commented, “I think it would be wonderful for London if we held the Rugby World Cup.”

“We’ve shown we can lay on fantastic sporting events. Britain has invented or codified virtually every major sport.”

Johnson returns troops to Pennyhill

Martin Johnson has decided to return the England squad to Pennyhill Park Hotel in Surrey, for training sessions and preparation in the run-up to matches.

It was at Pennyhill that England prepared prior to the successful 2003 World Cup campaign and Johnson is happy to be heading back there.

He commented, “Pennyhill ticks all the right boxes. It has a resurfaced pitch and great training and recovery facilities, including a swimming pool.”

Johnson demands respect and responsibility

Martin Johnson says he will not stand for England players acting irresponsibly and claims the squad are united in their stance not to see a repeat of the fiasco in New Zealand.

A number of England players faced serious allegations of a sexual nature whilst in staying at the team hotel in Auckland. Despite no further action being taken by the police, Johnson has stressed the importance of avoiding such situations.

He commented, “We sat down in a group this week and talked about responsibility. The players led it. We wanted them to. What the squad has been through cannot happen again. The players know that.”

Bundy and Burgess join England set up

Martin Johnson has bolstered his backroom staff by recruiting Mike Bundy and Rob Burgess.

Bundy joins as team doctor after successful spells with the Saxons team and UK Athletics, while Burgess is the new operations manager, a role he undertook in his time with Gloucester.

And Martin Johnson is delighted with his two recruits, commenting “It is vital the medical support and the logistics of the squad run smoothly, and I am confident Mike and Rob will both play a major role in the management team moving forward.”

Ashton not interested in Academy role

Former England head coach Brian Ashton isn’t interested in becoming the new manager of the National Academy.

After parting ways with the England set-up in April after leading the side to the World Cup final, Ashton has been invited back to help develop the next crop of national stars.

However, Ashton has rejected the role commenting, “I have given full and careful consideration over the last two months to my future career plans. I now consider it the correct time to develop more varied challenges than just dealing with professional rugby.”

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Smith finally joins England set up

Brian Smith has finally put pen to paper on a deal to become the new England attack coach, after weeks of speculation.

The London Irish director of rugby become Martin Johnson’s first appointment as head coach and says he is delighted to be in board.

Smith commented, “The opportunity to coach at international level comes along rarely in one’s career so I’m looking forward to my new position with England. It’s an exciting time to be involved. I would like to thank London Irish for the opportunity the club has given me.”

Baptism of fire for Johnson

Martin Johnson faces possibly the three most difficult matches that any England head coach has had to start with, as he prepares to go head to head with the Pacific Islands, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand in his first four games in charge.

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.”

Johnson ready to be judged

Martin Johnson says he knows how he will be judged as England head coach and that’s by how well the team performs out on the field.

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.”

Johnson wields England axe

Martin Johnson has named his first England elite squad and left out some high profile names as he tries to create a team in his own image.

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).

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