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Coach: Woodward wants Johnson
06/04/2008 17:11 - (SA)
London - World Cup-winning captain Martin Johnson has been urged to take a
full coaching role with England by former head coach Clive
Woodward.
Johnson is expected to be named England team manager this week.
But Woodward, who led England to their 2003 World Cup triumph in
Australia, believes Johnson should target a bigger role.
"Get your hands dirty and coach. If I were Martin, I would demand
the title of head coach," Woodward wrote in The Sunday Times.
"If he does not take an active part, he will find it very hard to
gain the respect of the players.
"If he simply stands there watching and snarling he will soon be
unpicked by everybody."
Woodward backed Johnson as the man to re-establish England as a world
force but he warned that he must not be distracted by "parasites" and
"termites" within the Rugby Football Union.
"Martin should surround himself with people he gets on with, people
he can have fun with and people he can trust when the pressure comes
on," said Woodward.
But he sees little likelihood of Brian Ashton, the current coach,
being absorbed into Johnson's panel or Jake White, South Africa's 2007
World Cup-winning coach, who has expressed an interest in the England
job.
"Frankly, if Martin keeps Ashton under him or goes for White, it
would smack of a compromise. It could be dangerous. I cannot imagine
either Jake or Brian sitting down having a few beers with Martin and
chewing the fat all night.
"He will need a mentor urgently. (Former Australia coach) Eddie
Jones could be the right man for the role in the short term."
And Woodward believes Johnson should turn to members of the 2003
World Cup-winning squad.
"It would be a mistake thinking Martin has to bring in a massively
experienced coach. If he goes to the 2003 World Cup team, there are
people he knows and can trust, they are special people who operated in
a fantastic environment."
- AFP
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