Simon Shaw has backed player power to transform England's RBS 6 Nations fortunes.
Experienced forward hails "open and honest" England squad
Simon Shaw has backed player power to transform England's fortunes during the Six Nations.
The veteran Wasps lock was part of a delegation of players who urged team manager Martin Johnson and his coaches loosen the tactical demands they had imposed during the autumn internationals.
England scored one try in three Tests, in a laboured 16-9 win over Argentina, as their one-dimensional rugby drew jeers from the Twickenham crowd.
The captains of Australia and New Zealand both left Twickenham with stinging criticism of England's failure to trouble their defence in any serious way.
Shaw was blunt in his analysis, claiming players were afraid to step away from a rigid game-plan that was strangling the best of English rugby.
Johnson acknowledged some mistakes were made during the autumn and immediately set about changing the emphasis.
Attack coach Brian Smith has redesigned England's gameplan and Johnson has selected a back division packed with pace and a sharper cutting edge.
"That meeting was hugely important," Shaw said.
"I think successful squads are ones where everyone has their input and there is an open forum for players and coaches to communicate freely amongst each other and get ideas out there.
Honest
"This is probably the most open and honest squad of any I have been in.
"We have given all our information and advice to the coaches. They have accepted our point of view in some regards, and it is up to us now to put everything we have said on the pitch.
"If we don't do that I am sure they will give us a clip."
Johnson's mantra ever since he took charge of England was that rugby is a players' game and that the coaches are only there to facilitate that.
That balance was wrong during the autumn but Johnson has accepted the game-plan was "over-prescriptive" and sought to address the issue.
Better news for Johnson is that England are developing a senior leadership group willing to stand up for themselves, despite 18 months of upheaval.
The England team that ended last year's Six Nations so well was diluted for the summer tour by Lions call-ups and then decimated by injuries in the autumn.
But Nick Easter, Lewis Moody, Jonny Wilkinson, Simon Shaw and Mark Cueto are all back in the side and offering captain Steve Borthwick a team of experienced lieutenants.
"It would have been fantastic to have a stable group but that has not been the reality and those experiences have undoubtedly made us a stronger group," said Borthwick.
"The success of any side needs a strong leadership group. We are developing a leadership group of some stature."
