Paul Ackford ponders the fate of England's young players as the Six Nations approaches in The Sunday Telegraph.
“What makes me think we can win this Six Nations?” Johnson pondered. “We’ve probably assembled the best squad we’ve had since I’ve been involved. It’s going to be exciting getting those guys together. They can move it on pretty quickly from where we were in the autumn. There are things we need to chae, things we need to improve, but there is no reason why we can’t win any particular game we play.”
“Apart from serious reservations over a lack of clout at loosehead, concerns over the balance in the second row and worries over whether the absence of a kicking inside-centre will make England easier to read, Johnson’s picks were well received. Some of the dead wood — Ben Kay, Mike Tindall, George Chuter — had been lopped off, and there is a growing sense that, if he chooses, Johnson’s England could boast youth, pace and sheer vibrancy.
“If he chooses... because Johnson’s been here before with Danny Cipriani, Mathew Tait, Courtney Lawes, Ben Foden and Shane Geraghty, players who were available in the autumn, and earlier, under Johnson’s stewardship, but who were either not used (Foden), hardly used (Lawes and Tait) or jettisoned, having been marked down as useless (Geraghty and Cipriani). Nineteen months and 14 games into the job, how will Johnson decide if and when his young guns are ready?”
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