Johnson warns against cheap talk of Grand Slam success

GRAND slam may be a dirty word in the England camp, but after the steepest hurdle was overcome at Twickenham on Saturday it is becoming increasingly difficult to see any other outcome for Martin Johnson’s men.

Given the unpredictability of Test match rugby and the fact that they have to go to the daunting atmosphere of the Aviva Stadium in Dublin to close out the feat, no-one in the England camp is looking any further than the visit of the Scots to Twickenham in 13 days.

Only Ben Foden, scorer of the decisive try against Marc Lievremont’s Les Bleus, would admit to Johnson’s men being ‘capable’ of making it five from five, but even then he stopped short of lacing that confidence with arrogance.

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“We have to focus, it’s going to be a strong Scottish side, they can beat us here at Twickenham and we know we’ve got two tough games ahead of us before we can start thinking about that (Grand Slam),” said the Northampton full-back. “There’s a lot of homework to be done, we’ve got a week to rest up and get ready for the next game.

“With the type of players we’ve got and the experience we have we are capable of going on and winning it.

“But that’s the good thing about this competition, there’s a lot of strong teams and if you don’t turn up on the day you’ll get turned over.

“We have to make sure we turn up and put in the type of performance that justifies and backs these first three performances up.”

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Team manager Johnson – the last England captain to achieve the feat in 2003 – was far more unequivocal in his response to the question of whether the Grand Slam was England’s for the taking. “What’s the point (in talking about it)?” he said. “If you want to win something you talk about it afterwards, otherwise you’re setting yourself up for a fall.

“You focus on the next game.”

The manner of England’s victory over France, built on a phenomenal defensive effort, on top of the way they despatched Wales and Italy in the earlier games, does point to this being England’s year.

If they were to not complete the job from here, they should kick themselves.

The Red Rose are showing maturity with every performance, and when their much-vaunted back division stuttered on Saturday, it was their redoubtable forwards who saw them to victory.

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Foden said: “They were a very tough French outfit, they’d done their homework and it was the sign of a good team that we got our noses in front and hung on.

“Games like this help define players. There are a lot of young guys, including myself, who it is good to know will come out the other end when put under pressure. We won it ugly, and if we’d have been offered that result on Tuesday of last week we’d have taken it.

“We choked them a little bit, made them play in their own half and that’s a real sign of maturity. If we’re back in that situation in another crunch game we know we can now see out the game. It’s a win, there’s lots of things to work on and we’ve got two big games coming up.”

The last time England were unbeaten three games into the championship was in 2003.

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One of the big factors in that run was Jonny Wilkinson, who may no longer be first-choice No 10 for the Red Rose but who remains a pivotal figure.

He came off the bench on Saturday for Toby Flood and immediately kicked a 47-metre penalty to make it a two-score game.

He also retook the world record international points record from New Zealand’s Dan Carter and he senses a similar momentum building in the current squad to the one that claimed the two big prizes eight years ago.

Wilkinson said: “What we are doing here is based on good values and a good foundation and that does remind me of 2003.

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“Not in a romantic ‘we are in exactly the same place’ way. This is a different environment because rugby has moved on.

“In rugby you can’t just build a team straight away. You build a spirit, you build that togetherness, you build understanding and you build momentum.

“In 2003 something very, very solid was put in place and time was taken through attention to detail to develop it, to stick with it, to give guys an opportunity and continue to move on.

“That team lost Grand Slam deciders but they didn’t stop us from improving.

“This team has done a lot of learning along the way.

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“You can gather momentum, whether you are winning or not, and it can have a snowball effect.

“Each game we have played so far in the Six Nations and in the autumn has called upon something different from the team.

“Maybe once or twice you are found wanting but a lot of the time the guys have been able to find whatever it is that has been needed to win.”

England’s matchwinners against France were the unsung heroes up front, and Wilkinson said: “This was the kind of game that international rugby is all about, where it balances on a knife-edge and comes down to crucial moments,” Wilkinson said.

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“It was tight, intense rugby against a very good team and that is why it was a good win.

“It was always going to be a battle. Those French guys are so, so physical. They are battle-worn and they can ride hits all day. It was always going to be a war of attrition.

“I guess there were echoes of 2003. You need guys who continue to stand up tall, keep getting off the floor. This was an opportunity to see some guts and hard graft.”

leeds can still survive – back

NEIL BACK retains 100 per cent belief that his players will keep Leeds Carnegie in the Premiership despite that task being made increasingly harder last night by a comprehensive defeat to their relegation rivals Newcastle Falcons, writes Nick Westby.

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Despite dominating possession, Leeds were guilty of repeated handling errors that gifted the initiative to Newcastle, who moved seven points clear of the Yorkshire club at the foot of the table with a 22-5 victory at Headingley Carnegie.

Leeds have eight games left, and are still to go to Newcastle, but the defeat was damaging and takes their Premiership destiny out of their own hands.

Back said: “It makes our task harder because there is one less game to make the difference.

“There is still a lot of rugby to be played and it’s not over until it’s over.

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“I 100 per cent believe we can get the points to stay in the Premiership.

“I believe we have the commitment from the players to do that.

“I asked the players at the end – the responsibility is now with them – do they want to make the decision together that they want to stay in the Premiership?

“They looked me straight in the eye and that’s the reaction you want.”

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