Martin Johnson says England's World Cup draw 'dangerous'
Thursday 13 August 2015 10:28, UK
Martin Johnson believes England have one of the toughest groups in World Cup history.
The enormity of the challenge was evident last week following Australia's Rugby Championship title triumph and Fiji's success in the Pacific Nations Cup.
On three consecutive weekends, England must beat Fiji, Wales and Australia if they are to be offered a route through the less arduous half of the World Cup draw, avoiding New Zealand and South Africa.
If England are to progress through the group, Johnson predicts that they will benefit from having faced high-calibre opposition.
"It's the toughest pool there has ever been in a World Cup and someone will be going home early," the former England coach and 2003 World Cup-winning captain said.
"Whoever loses England v Wales, their next game becomes a must-win. They'll have to beat Australia just to stay in the tournament.
"But in a way it won't do England any harm at all. It's often the teams that have to fight and battle who will be in the best position come the end of the World Cup. If they win the group then it doesn't really get any harder, at least until the final."
England forwards coach Graham Rowntree has revealed that England have been watching Australia ahead of their clash at Twickenham on October 3.
“We’re watching them constantly as a group, that country are going places,” he said.
"Australia can be utterly lethal when it comes to scoring tries out of situations where there's nothing on, more so any other team in the world.
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"They execute with their hands very, very well and suddenly they're in. They score tries and that makes them lethal."
And Johnson says Fiji, England's first opponents, should not be taken lightly.
"It's a perfect opening game for Fiji because while everyone is talking about England, Wales and Australia, they'll be thinking 'whoa, don't forget us, we can play a bit too'," he said.
"It starts from the first kick-off in England's pool because there's no room for manoeuvre - you must hit the ground running."
