Jeff Probyn: Get Martin Johnson on board to pass on lessons learned in 2011

So Martin Johnson is reliving the nightmare that was the 2011 RWC England campaign.   Although it has been virtually three years, it is obvious that Martin still feels very aggrieved at what he perceived as a virtual witch hunt of the England squad.
The various descriptions in the media at the time of an England team struggling on the field while partying like a club 18-30 group in the wildest of Ayia Napa night clubs, was in stark contrast to the collective view of him and his management group.
Having been involved in a number of tours with England and the Lions, Martin was well aware of the struggles to find form on the pitch while balancing post match ‘adrenaline release' outings.
His knowledge was from the prospective of a player rather than that of management but, even so, it would be natural to think that those in the media that you have known for years would show a little support and empathy with the squad.
His analogy of squad behaviour and playing form with the 2003 side he captained is an interesting point.
Although we can never know what the off-field antics of the 2003 squad were because it has never been reported, Johnson would have had personal experience of what took place and the management's reaction and used that experience to form the ‘rules' for his 2011 squad.
On the playing side, the description of the 2011 squad scraping wins against Argentina and Scotland can be compared to the 2003 team's struggle against Wales and Samoa – the game where management were in such a panic they fielded an extra player and were fined £10,000.
If that fine had been a points deduction it could have cost us the Cup and the media would have had a field day at the expense of the head coach, but as Johnson said, the Cup was won and that whitewashed over all the mistakes and misconduct with everyone returning as heroes.
It has to be remembered that Johnson was brought into the England head coach/manager role to try to bring unity after the nightmare campaign of RWC 2007, when players and management were at each other's throats despite reaching the final.
At the time I wrote that I thought it was a mistake for him to take the job because he had no management or coaching experience and was too close to some of the players, having played in the same team as them.
That said, after the debacle of the 2011 Cup when all were calling for change, I wrote that I thought he should stay (just as Woodward had after the RWC disaster in 1999) as the experience he had gained would possibly have enabled him to emulate the success of 2003 in 2015.
That proved impossible as the vitriol exploded in a number of leaked reports from within the squad filled the media – and, as everybody sought to quell the damage that was being done to England rugby, Martin fell on his sword finally to draw a line under the whole sorry fiasco.
Is Johnno right? Did the Press give England a harder time than other teams?
Nick Cain's review of Johnson's comments was, I have to say, no more than I would have expected, just as Johnson said, the players develop a siege mentality and stick together, so do the Press.
There is no doubt that the players did go out, drink and have fun on permitted nights just as every other team in the tournament, but only England suffered the continual negative reporting that succeeded in undermining the confidence of the team.
Not helped by the royal connection to his squad through Mike Tindall only Johnson of all the head coaches had to constantly field questions about players social habits on nights off. Is it any wonder he is still angry?
That anger could be very useful to Stuart Lancaster in preparing his squad for what they will face following the massive media interest that is being whipped up by the ‘Too Big To Miss' campaign, with Johnno the man to explain to the players how and what they usually do, week-in, week-out, as post-match relaxation and the people they mix with will be scrutinised.
He can also advise the RFU on the makeup of Stuart Lancaster's media group for the World Cup and how that team should deal with media requests. The RFU have already taken steps to control media access to the players by banning player columns and diaries but that will put pressure on the England team media officer as he tries to please all enquirers.
With a winning team and careful handling, the media can be a major tool in developing the status of players and team, get it wrong and as Martin Johnson will testify they can be a right pain in the a**e.
The news that Andrew Sheridan has been forced to call time on his career as the result of a neck injury that has failed to heal after a number of months is a shame.
Andrew was an extremely powerful prop and although not very technical he was, to say the least a handful to play against, completely destroying his opposition on a number of occasions.
Andrew, at 6ft 4in, was tall for a prop and despite his enormous strength would have been prone to neck injuries and having suffered such an injury I feel he has made a tough but a correct decision.
Andrew, me, and a number of other props were inducted into the Midi Olympique rugby hall of fame a couple of years ago in Paris, it was a great night… from what I can remember.
I understand that he is going into the wine business.
If he is half as good at this as he was playing, it will be a vintage choice!
*This article was first published in The Rugby Paper on October 5.