French stick fails to annoy England’s Johnson

Lievremont had turned up the heat by admitting ‘We don’t like the English’ but Johnson poured cold water on the France coach’s attempt to inflame passions.

“We don’t like them and it’s better to say that than be hypocritical,” was how Lievremont opened his attack yesterday.

“We have a bit of trouble with the English. We respect them – well in my case at least I respect them.

“But you couldn’t say we have the slightest thing in common with them.

“We appreciate our Italian cousins with whom we share the same quality of life.

“We appreciate the Celts and their conviviality and then among all these nations we have one huge thing in common. We all don’t like the English.

“We beat Ireland yet left Dublin with the encouragement of all the Irish who said ‘for pity’s sake, beat the English’.

“With the Scots, it’s the same thing. It is also what gives you strength against the English, more than just because of rugby.”

Lievremont at least showed respect for the manner in which England have approached the tournament this year, with 10 tries scored in victories over Wales and Italy, and hinted that he regards them as a genuine threat.

He said: “We are very aware, in terms of planning and preparation, that the English are already in 2011 World Cup mode.

“We can feel that all of the English players are physically on a different level.”

Johnson – whose side have already taken the sting out of Wales coach Warren Gatland’s jibes by reacting with a winning performance in Cardiff – chose to translate Lievremont’s closing argument as a thinly-veiled compliment.

“If I read Marc’s quotes correctly they respect us as a team,” said Johnson.

“They have said from the outset that if they win here they will win the championship.

“We have been through one of these big build-ups already for the Wales game. That was a big challenge for us as a team and some of our individuals.

“I thought we handled it well. We are used to it. It is what we want.

“These big games are what we work for. There will be pressure, there will be quotes used by the media to generate the hype.

“There is enough history in this game and in the history of the two countries to spice it up.

“I quite enjoy it. Everyone here wants us to win.

“It may not be the case around the rest of Europe but that doesn’t matter.

“People like to beat England. There is history involved with that and most of it is not rugby history.

“That is what makes the tournament fun, that is why people like it. It is passion. People want their country to win.”

England fly-half Toby Flood, who has arguably been England’s most influential player ahead of six-try Chris Ashton, also saw Lievremont’s attack as a compliment.

“Maybe he was trying to unsettle us, I don’t know,” said the Leicester Tigers No 10.

“It shows people are taking notice of us and asking questions about how we are playing.”

Whatever impression other countries have of Johnson’s England, Flood insisted they are not arrogant enough to believe they are anywhere near the finished article.

This time last year England opened their campaign with two victories but failed to win another match.

He said: “I don’t think we are getting too far ahead of ourselves. We have had a couple of good performances. This is the biggest Test match we have had in a long time. Only one side can leave it with the chance of a grand slam.”

France are traditionally unpredictable, particularly away from home. Two years ago, they trailed England 29-0 at half-time.

But Johnson, cautious of complacency, will spend this week drumming home the message that England must prepare for the kind of performance France produced to beat Ireland in Dublin.

“Their win in Dublin was a win any team in this championship would have been proud of getting,” said Johnson.

“All the talk of ‘France don’t play well at Twickenham, France don’t travel well’ is dangerous.

“They think winning here is their route to winning the championship.”

Captain Lewis Moody returned to training at the club’s Surrey base and is in line to reclaim the captaincy from Otley-born Mike Tindall for the visit of the French.

His inclusion at flanker could mean a return to Leeds Carnegie for Hendre Fourie with James Haskell the man likely to take up position on the bench as back-row cover.

Leeds head coach Neil Back, whose side face relegation rivals Newcastle on Sunday, said: “It’s very tough because England players don’t get released by England until Thursday, so have very little time to train with us and learn the tactics for our next game.

“Hopefully if they are released in the future we get them for the week so we can have a proper build-up to the game.”

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