Filed under: Rugby Union, Rugby World Cup, Internationals, England Rugby
As if to impress the fact upon the England squad that their pre-World Cup training camp was no holiday - despite the five-star surroundings - Martin Johnson sat them down to watch a a brutal, unpleasant DVD.This training camp is the final one before things get really serious, as the get-together in Bagshot, Surrey, began just 13 days before England play their first warm-up game ahead of the tournament in New Zealand.
And Johnson has attempted to impress upon them just how far they need to improve by showing a DVD of their most recent game - which was the epitome of a massive wake-up call.
England's last outing was of course the final Six Nations game, against Ireland in Dublin. They had headed into the match riding on a wave of optimism, having won all their games previously.
But they blew a chance of winning the Grand Slam by simply failing to deal with the clinical, relentless onslaught by their opponents.
The viewing was an interesting tactic by Johnson, who does not strike you as one for using psychology as part of training for a World Cup. But instead of knocking the players' confidence, the message appears to have got through, if the comments from flanker Tom Wood are anything to go on.
He told the Daily Telegraph: "It would have been naive to think we could sweep it under the carpet even though that is what we wanted to do.
"The reality is that we weren't at the races and looking at it in the cold light of day, having calmed down, it is easy to see what the mistakes were.
"There were opportunities for us, it just felt like we were hit by a runaway train. It was good to look at it a few months on and we will definitely learn from it."
England will remain in their luxury surroundings until August 6, when they take on Wales at Twickenham, before heading to Cardiff the following week to play the same opponents.
There is, unsurprisingly, little time for levity, given the work they have to do and the fact that the 40-man squad will be trimmed by at least 10 before they leave for New Zealand.
And there is no talk of who they may have to beat if they are to harbour hopes of a repeat of 2003, when they overcame Australia in Sydney in the final.
Once again New Zealand's All Blacks have been installed as favourites, but Wood, whose partner is a Kiwi, added: "I don't think [the All Blacks] will concern themselves too much about what we do. They will just prepare, as we do, to look after your own house and keep it in order. I don't think any rugby team stresses about any opposition."
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Source: http://www.fanhouse.co.uk/2011/07/27/martin-johnson-england-training-camp-tom-wood/
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