Manager and captain quick to switch focus to next challenge

England kicked off the Six Nations in style last Friday with a composed performance amid the intimidating atmosphere of the Millennium Stadium.

Now with Italy up next on Saturday at Twickenham, and France and Scotland to visit headquarters over the coming weeks before a finale in Dublin against Ireland, Johnson is demanding more from his players.

He gave his Otley-born captain and the team the weekend off to recuperate and enjoy last Friday’s win over Wales, but said: “There’s lots we can be better at and we have to do it pretty quickly.

“Every game you play in Test rugby is a different challenge, Italy at home is a different challenge and we need to be ready for it.

“It’s good for the guys to have a good weekend. We’ve been in camp a long time, but we’ll hand the rollickings out on Monday for what went wrong.

“In this game from one week to the next, if you win you’re great, you lose you’re terrible.

“There’s lots of things we got wrong at times (against Wales). We’ve won away from home, which we’ve not done to anyone other than Italy in the Six Nations for a while, but if we turn up and play badly next week and get beaten what will that feel like?

“You’ve got to keep going, keep on improving – and the good thing is there’s lots to improve.”

Chris Ashton continued his fearless start to Test rugby with a decisive brace of tries that took his tally to five in eight caps, while Toby Flood was faultless with his kicking and dynamic in the loose.

“Flood has now had eight starts on the trot,” Johnson continued. “In the autumn he was fantastic. You have seen his maturity.”

And although it was the manner of how they closed out the match that impressed Johnson and the watching public, it is the niggling indiscipline which is one of the main areas of concern.

“I thought we defended well second half, better than we did in the first,” he said.

“There were times when they had the ball for long phases and we gave away a couple of silly penalties when we weren’t in trouble. It’s guys trying to force the turnover and suddenly it’s three points or 60 yards – things like that can kill you.

“We could be sitting here having lost off the back of that, so it’s good points to learn off all the time.

“In saying that, I’m really happy we won the game. Because ultimately you’ve got to finish the game off and it was good for us when Wales came back and scored their try. The crowd was in the game and the momentum had shifted; it was good to have to fight back and fight to the end and win.

“Some of the guys thought it was an ugly win, but you’ve got to win those Test matches.

“We talked about pressure, going into the last quarter and being able to put it away, and we did that.”

Johnson warned his team they cannot let their standards slip after their 26-19 win at a raucous Millennium Stadium.

“Wales was a big emotional game with lots of build-up, a lot said and it was a great occasion. We have to perform whatever the build-up,” Johnson said.

“We have to set our standards higher and be better than we were last week.

“We have to handle this well and turn up next week and produce with the same amount of energy, tempo and improve our execution.

“The expectation with Italy is always a little bit wrong.

“They are very awkward and tough. They keep the ball away from you, they don’t concede a lot of points and they are a pretty good team.

“It is important we get the mindset right. Until you play the next one, this is your toughest game.

“This time last year we would certainly have had more of a chance of losing that Wales game.

“You don’t get better by patting yourselves on the back too much. The players are in a place when they want to be hard on themselves.”

One of the priorities at their Bagshot training base this week will be continuing to build on the foundations laid during improved summer and autumn campaigns.

Continuity of selection has helped Johnson’s team come of age, and he already faces some tough decisions this morning with Leeds Carnegie’s Hendre Fourie the first of a troupe of forwards set to return to selection for Saturday.

Whether he disrupts a back-row unit that functioned solidly – particularly debutant Tom Wood – to accommodate the South Africa-born openside is one of the great imponderables of the week ahead.

James Haskell wore the No 7 shirt Fourie could occupy and is one of England’s most dependable operators when called upon.

Johnson said: “When you get the same guys coming in that played through the summer and the autumn, you get that continuity and you can go from laying the foundations to adding that little bit of detail.

“The players are more comfortable with it so they can execute it that little better under pressure.

“And there’s still loads more to come from us.”

As for Tindall, his 67th cap represented his first as captain, and after a performance where he led by example on the pitch, the unassuming Yorkshireman said: “It was a great win, we looked really good in some parts, a bit one-dimensional in others, so there’s things to improve on.

“All we see this as is a good win at a really difficult place to come.

“We’ve got to use this as a stepping stone. We’ve got to feed off the belief in the squad, but no one is getting complacent, we’ve still got to go out there and perform.

“We’ve got to demand performances from ourselves, that’s all we can do. We can’t get ahead of ourselves, we’ve got to keep our feet firmly on the ground.”

On wearing the armband, Tindall added: “It didn’t feel any different. We’ve got a lot of leaders on the field and you just get into the habit of talking when you need to.

“I didn’t feel any added pressure, I felt more excitement. It was a great honour to go out there and lead the team.

“The main goal for me was to go out there and enjoy it and it’s always enjoyable when you get a win.”

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