Paul Rees 

Martin Johnson’s exit as England manager: no reason, no regrets

There was nothing unambiguous about Martin Johnson the player, but there was little clarity about his reason for resigning as the England team manager
  
  


There was nothing ambiguous about Martin Johnson the player, but there was little clarity about his reason for resigning as the England team manager on Wednesday. He said it was a decision he had made, after long and careful deliberations, in his best interests as well as those of the team, but he failed to say what they were.

As Johnson reviewed the 40 months he had been in charge, he outlined his case for being given another four years at the helm: 10 victories out of 13 this year, England's best run since they won the 2003 World Cup, a large core of young players who had broken into the team in the past 18 months and proved themselves to be international quality, a first Six Nations title in eight years, an end to unsuccessful runs in Cardiff, Dublin and Australia and, as he put it, unfinished business.

"I have given it a huge amount of thought since my return from the World Cup and even before that," said Johnson, who, while accepting that the off-the-field behaviour of some of his players during the World Cup had not been an incentive to seek a new contract and contradicting reports that he had been under pressure from his employers to jettison all or some of his coaching team, was not prepared to subject himself to intense scrutiny for the next four years.

"There was no one specific reason for my not seeking to stay on," he said. "You weigh up factors. It's an all-encompassing and consuming job. The cycles are from World Cup to World Cup and you have to decide whether you are prepared to jump in for four years and wholly commit yourself to that job and weigh it up. I'm not.

"Even before the World Cup, you had thoughts about where you were and you cannot get away from that. I tried to take the emotion and the disappointment out of it. The off-the-field things during the World Cup did not help, even if they did not portray the team in an accurate light. We gave people the opportunity to report on us as they did. I think on the field we have made huge strides, but the World Cup was disappointing."

The Rugby Football Union has little time to find England's fourth manager/head coach in seven years. The 32-strong elite squad has to be named at the beginning of January and with a review of the set-up at Twickenham due to start in the new year, any experienced coach interested in succeeding Johnson would not receive answers to certain questions, such as to whom he would be answerable.

Nick Mallett, who has coached South Africa and Italy, revealed on Wednesday night he had been approached by the RFU but decided the job was not for him. He is likely to have been among the top three candidates. "The RFU contacted me this week to enquire about my availability for the position, should Martin Johnson resign," Mallett said. "I had previously expressed my interest in the position publicly and was interested to hear what RFU representatives had to say.

"After mulling it over for a few days and discussing the opportunity with close friends and family, I have decided that I will not be making myself available for the position and I have disclosed this to the RFU

"My primary concern is my family. I am happy to have returned home to South Africa after a tremendous four-year term with the Italian national team. We are settled in Cape Town and it is my wish to be able to enjoy time with my wife and kids after four years in Italy." One of Mallett's concerns had been whether he would have to report to a performance director rather than a chief executive.

Johnson said he had been given the freedom by the RFU to run the national team his way, both in the coaches he recruited and the players he picked, but the year of sackings, resignations and fallouts that has left the union bereft of leaders started with a desire by some at Twickenham to bolster Johnson, who had no experience of management or coaching when he was approached by England in 2008, with a performance director in the form of his 2003 World Cup-winning coach, Sir Clive Woodward.

"I have had a huge amount of support from the RFU," said Johnson. "The issues at the top did not affect us on the field. You make selections and calls based on what you know at the time and in the best interests of the team. Some turn out to be wrong, some OK and others to be very good. We have had good times and tough times. If you want a steady life, don't do this job. It can be addictive, but there is part of it that's not healthy."

Johnson said the disciplinary action taken by the RFU last week against Mike Tindall for his behaviour in a Queenstown bar after leading England to victory in their World Cup opener against Argentina had not been a factor behind his decision to stand down, even though the union's reasons for fining the centre and throwing him out of the World Cup squad did not endorse the way Johnson had handled the matter.

"There is no one thing that tips you over the edge," said Johnson. "It has been my call and I understand that if I had not made it someone might have done so for me. Players get dropped and coaches get fired. I knew time was ticking and I made the decision as quickly as I could. The England coaches have a tremendous amount of experience and it would be a waste for that to be lost to the union." The defence coach, Mike Ford, said he expected to be jettisoned with Johnson gone. "I think there is an air of inevitability," Ford told BBC Radio Five Live. "We are grown men and we understand that being a coach you are there in the firing line."

Graham Henry, New Zealand's World Cup-winning coach who was sounded out by England before Woodward was appointed in 1997, is the bookmakers' favourite to succeed Johnson despite saying he would be interested only in a part-time role if he came to Europe. The leading English candidate is Northampton's director of rugby, Jim Mallinder. The former Australia coach Eddie Jones has expressed an interest in the post.

He told the BBC: "You'd always be interested in coaching England. It has got a fantastic domestic competition, very, very good players and you have just got to get the right programme in place and they should be good enough to win the next World Cup."

 

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