Jason Robinson has hit out at England's World Cup flops insisting they have let down manager Martin Johnson both on and off the pitch.
World Cup winner feels players badly let down their manager
Jason Robinson has hit out at England's World Cup flops insisting they have let down manager Martin Johnson both on and off the pitch.
Robinson formed part of the 2003 England team that was captained to World Cup glory in Australia by Johnson.
By contrast, Johnson's first experience of a World Cup as a manager was far less successful as he saw his team crash out at the quarter-final stage following a disjointed 19-12 defeat to France.
But it was not only on the pitch that England disappointed as their campaign was dogged by a series of off-field indiscretions.
Johnson's future in his post is now very much in the balance, but Robinson has sympathy for his former team-mate and feels he has been sold short by his squad.
"I do feel, dare I say it, sorry for Martin Johnson," the former Sale Sharks winger told
Sky Sports News.
Too much slack
"The guys have not repaid him, he's protected them, he's given them some slack, some say too much slack, and unfortunately they've not repaid that.
"They've let him down at times and unfortunately throughout the World Cup we've been talking more about what's gone on off the field than what's happened on it."
Robinson reserved particular criticism for Manu Tuilagi who ensured England's ill-fated campaign finished by attracting even more unwanted headlines after jumping off a ferry.
"A lot of these things that happened off it would have been forgotten a long time ago if England had been performing," he continued.
"Because they haven't it's just been one thing after another resulting in the ferry incident which is almost childish - I mean why would you do it? I don't know.
"But unfortunately it's brought unnecessary criticism of an England team and everyone is even more disappointed now."
