Johnson takes Care to lay the blame on indiscipline

IRELAND v ENGLAND: ENGLAND COACH Martin Johnson was greeted like the pantomime villain when sporadic close-ups of his face appeared on the big screen at Croke Park.

Forget the booing, it was the animation and gestures he couldn’t mask for a fleeting second or two that offered far more illumination than the measured responses of his post-match press conference.

Caught unaware by his big screen cameos he didn’t try and mask his gut reaction to one or two instances of England on-pitch indiscipline, striking the desk with a fist and on another occasion glaring at the monitor with an intensity that suggested it was just as well the offender wasn’t within his grasp. Twenty minutes after the final whistle, his post-match dressingroom dissertation must have had a cathartic effect on his disposition by the time he arrived to face the media. It wasn’t that he wouldn’t have felt angry, disappointed or frustrated but the emotions were less raw. It was time to circle the chariots.

Johnson wasn’t impervious to England’s disciplinary peccadilloes but rather than single out culprits publicly he chose to focus on collective shortcomings; at least for public consumption. It may still be the early months of a new regime but peeking through his thoughts, it’s clear to see one or two players won’t make the cut when France arrive in Twickenham in a fortnight.

In the last four Test matches 10 England players have received yellow cards – Phil Vickery and Danny Care the latest recipients – a millstone that in combination with a ridiculously high penalty count is effectively denying the team opportunities to win matches.

England may have lost by a point but had Ronan O’Gara displayed his customary accuracy, the match would have panned out differently: the visitors having to take more risks in chasing the game, a tactic that would sit a great deal less comfortably than the defensive solidity and kicking game they pursued for most of the match.

Johnson’s overview of the contest was something of a lament to lost opportunity, England undermined by their own hand.

“I thought it was a good Test match, real tight, with both teams defensively strong, particularly in the first half. It was a mistake in the kicking game that created an opportunity. We probably let them off the hook three or four times in terms of building pressure in their half: missed kick to touch, lost lineout; penalty at a scrum.

“We didn’t have that much pressure (as a result). I thought we handled them defensively pretty well. In the first half, the penalty count wasn’t great and it got worse. Ultimately I said to the players after the game, you cost yourself a game. You have to face facts. It was a big effort, they (the team) did things very well at times but ultimately, if you give away 16 penalties you are going to lose.

“The one that really changed the game was Danny’s (Care). It was 11-6 at that point and they made it 14-6 and we had no scrumhalf for 10 minutes. There was an opportunity for us to play for the last 10 minutes with Danny on fresh . . . he hit the back of a ruck from where I saw it.”

Unfortunately for Care, Johnson’s view may be less charitable when he views the video as the Harlequins scrumhalf was guilty of a crass charge into the back of Marcus Horan.

“As I said to him (Care) when you’re down in the penalty count that much, the referees and the touch judges are looking at you; and why wouldn’t they be? The main focus of this week has been hammering away about not giving away penalties and trusting our defence; being accurate in that area.

“We have done it (given away penalties) again. I am just angry for them, not for me, because they work hard. They have come here against one of the better teams in Europe, a team that can win this championship and gone toe-to-toe for great periods. At times they have been under pressure and we have had them (Ireland) under pressure but ultimately if you are going to give 16 penalties away, you are not going to win.

“It’s not the same person all the time. It is a team-wide thing. It’s very frustrating. The scoreline is the game. Ronan (O’Gara) missed some kicks but if he kicks them it changes the dynamic as well. If the game stays tight, it stays tight. We scored right at the end: another two minutes, who knows?

“You saw the atmosphere at the start with the anthems. You are playing in a very volatile, passionate place when you come here. I thought, despite the penalties in the first half, we kept ourselves in the game very well. We handled what they had to throw at us particularly well.

“I thought we defended very well again. That’s what makes it all the more frustrating about giving the penalties away; we didn’t have to as it’s not as if we were getting broken defensively. We have got to believe in ourselves and trust in ourselves.

“There are other elements as well, not just the discipline, that need to be improved. There was space wider out for us. The ball could have gone there. Our kicking game wasn’t as good as it should have been.”

Canvassing the England players unearthed identical key words: frustration, anger, disappointment. Captain Steve Borthwick shrugged: “I thought the referee was left by us with no options but to give penalties against us. I think we gave away penalties that were blatant.

“The players are the only ones that can remedy this situation. We are responsible for the decisions we make out on the field. The last two weeks we have been very close to winning Test matches against very good opposition away from home and we have lost both of them.

Ultimately the coaches are the ones that can talk about it but it is the players that have to remedy it.

“Every one of us is angry. We are angry about ourselves collectively; we are all responsible for this. We are building a great unity within the squad so we are angry that we have let ourselves down.”

It is the second match in succession England have recognised their shortcomings but the more pertinent issue is whether they can endorse those words with the requisite action or will they offer the same plaintive cry in two weeks’ time?