Martin Johnson - RFU Podcast Interview 

“A lot’s been written about the new contract in the last few weeks,”

“We picked the squad in July and we have to back our judgement.
“We’ve picked a good blend of experienced players and a lot of good young guys who have a lot of talent. Within the squad there’s always going to be injuries and we can bring in guys in to replace them, so we’re comfortable with how it works.”

Johnson also promised that fans would get a taste of what’s to come when England run out for the first Test against the Pacific Islanders. 

 “We’re going out there to play, we’re not going to go into our shells.”   

 But unlike the three matches that follow, Johnson’s men have less of an idea what to expect from their first opponents. 

“The Pacific Islanders don’t play many games so, although we know their players, we’ve less to go on in terms of their style of play. 
“But we do know they have some great athletes, players like Mapasua and Tagicakibau love to run the ball, they’re powerful and they’re dangerous. 
“It’s not a warm up game, having not seen them play means you’re not sure what you’ve going to face, but one thing’s for sure - it’s going to be a full on Test match.”

After three months in the post, Johnson is confident of getting selection right, thanks to weekly meetings with his coaching staff. 

“If we were playing tomorrow we’d know what our team was,” he said.
 
“But saying that, there are three weeks before our first match and things can change, guys have the opportunity to play themselves in there, that’s part of the process.”
 

 “At the end of the Investec Challenge series we’ll know exactly where we stand on the world stage.  It’s a tough call but I’d like to see us improve every week. 
 
“There’s a feeling amongst the camp that we want to show what we can do but it’s all very well talking about it, we’ve got to play well and we’re all very aware of that.”

RWFU President - Gill Burns

As preparations continue for the London 2012 Olympics, former England women’s captain Gill Burns is looking forward to the perfect hors d'oeuvres, as the IRB Women’s World Cup comes to London in 2011.
 
Following the IRB’s recent announcement, Burns, now President of the women’s union, said,

“We’ve long wanted the World Cup to be staged in England and to get a successful bid in this time is brilliant news.
 
“England are very much in with a shout.  We’re currently ranked number two, but we’re building strength in depth and aiming for that number one spot in 2011 and playing at home will be a great advantage for the girls.”
 

But having played her last game against World Champions New Zealand, the former England and Lionesses Number 8 knows all too well that the Black Ferns will take some beating. 

“Rugby is a religion in New Zealand and England will have to be at top of game to beat the Black Ferns.
 
“We beat them on tour out there in 2001 but other than that you have to go back to 1991 for the last time they lost before that. 
 
“It would be a massive, massive step but certainly it’s what the current England squad is building towards over the next two years.”
 

For the full interviews, check out the rfu.com podcast every Thursday (from 4pm).  Here, you can listen to the weekly podcast or subscribe to itunes and have it delivered straight to your inbox each week. 
 
Formerly the Gillette Rugby Podcast, the rfu.com podcast takes you inside English rugby from the grassroots to the elite.