Sir Clive Woodward, the man who masterminded England’s rise to the top of the world, believes Martin Johnson’s current team could be built around such outstanding young talents as Danny Cipriani, Shane Geraghty and Ben Youngs. He spoke to Matt Hampson in the latest edition of Rugby World magazine.
"England need to field an incredibly quick team, playing at a pace even the southern hemisphere can’t match," Sir Clive, now Performance Director for the British Olympic Association, told Hampson.
"I’d have liked to see the team built around Ben Youngs, Danny Cipriani and Shane Geraghty over the past two years. They’re among the most talented players I’ve seen in a long time. They could be as talented as Matt Dawson, Jonny Wilkinson and Will Greenwood at their best. There is also real competition, notably from Joe Simpson and Toby Flood.
"I first saw Cipriani play when he was 11, my son Joe played next to him. It was clear then he was a special talent. You need to spot talent at that level, possibly even earlier. You need to look younger and younger and get the right people involved in the talent identification process and their ongoing development.’"
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