Martin Johnson remains upbeat

Martin Johnson impressed with England's performance

England boss Martin Johnson is confident his side are making progress despite finishing their autumn campaign with defeat to South Africa. Yet Johnson insists England is no longer a collection of individuals, but a team gelling together and ready to embark on the Six Nations tournament in little more than two months time.

Although losing the final game against the current World Champions, England show displays of grit and determination to overcome Australia and Western Samoa after losing the first game against New Zealand.

"We're far better for getting through a Test series," he said.

"It's a learning experience emotionally, controlling the ups and downs and dealing with the intensity for some of the guys and they have done it very well really.

"We do expect more. We set our standards and we did not meet those clearly.

"But we are playing good teams. You make mistakes and errors and people get injured and you get penalised and you disagree and all these things, but you have to overcome them.

"The team's going in the right direction and we can be a pretty good team but consistency is the key.

"Everyone in the autumn series, with the exception of the All Blacks, has been a bit up and down. Good Test teams go out and are difficult to beat every week."

Johnson is under no illusion that there is room for improvement, but he is happy with how the side has developed during the autumn campaign.

"You always want to improve and move on and we have certainly done it," said Johnson.

"As a group just having the time together and going through ups and downs is huge. I think we've got a team now definitely. Everyone wants to be in it. It's very competitive to get in it.

"The medics have done a great job keeping everyone fit and healthy and the coaches have done a great job as well.

"No-one's going to sit back and think we're anywhere near there. There is a long way to go and a long way we can go.

"Loads of great pluses. Everyone who has played has played well. For those guys in sub-10, sub-20 Test matches everything is new and absorbed."

England Confirm Warm-up Games

Rugby World Cup 2011

England will play warm-up games against Wales and Ireland in the run up to the Rugby World Cup 2011, which is being held in New Zealand. 

England will face Wales at home and away on successive weekends before facing Ireland in Dublin.

England boss Martin Johnson  said: "These three games are an important element in our build-up to Rugby World Cup  2011.

"We're looking forward to playing both Wales home and away and Ireland as part of our preparation, and they should be excellent contests."

England will face Warren Gatland’s Wales at Twickenham on August 6th and then seven days later at the Millennium Stadium.  England will then play Ireland on August 27th at the Aviva Stadium before departing for New Zealand the following week.

100 Greatest Sports Stars - Number 96 - Jonah Lomu

Jonah Lomu, (MNZM) is a New Zealand rugby union player. He had sixty-three caps as an All Black after debuting in 1994. He is generally regarded as the first true global superstar of rugby union. One of the sport's most intimidating players on the field, he has had a huge impact on the game. He was inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame on 9 October 2007.

Jonah Lomu All Blacks Legend:



Trivia about Lomu:

Jonah turned down a multi-million dollar offer to play American football.

Jonah is a giant New Zealand rugby player regarded as one of the world's best players ever. Bizarrely, Jonah plays as a winger - a position usually occupied by the lightest and smallest players. On his best form, it can take 4 or more players to bring Jonah down.

He was offered the role of the villain Gabor in the James Bond movie The World Is Not Enough (1999), however, he declined in order to concentrate fully on his rugby career. The role was then given to former Gladiator John Seru (a.k.a. 'Vulcan').

Jonah has a wax likeness of himself at Madame Tussauds in London.

Has the number 11 - which is his famous playing number - tattooed on his muscular chest.

Has his own Playstation game - "Jonah Lomu's Rugby"

He was awarded the M.N.Z.M. (Member of the Order of New Zealand) in the 2007 Queen's Birthday Honors List for his services to Rugby in Auckland, New Zealand.

The worlds greatest:



Lomu burst onto the international rugby scene during the 1994 Hong Kong Sevens tournament and was widely acknowledged to be the top player at the 1995 World Cup in South Africa even though New Zealand lost the championship game to the host Springboks. At one time Lomu was considered 'rugby union's biggest drawcard',swelling attendances at any match where he appeared. He has played for several provincial teams, in the Super Rugby and NPC competitions.

These included the Blues, Chiefs and Hurricanes, and Counties Manukau, Wellington and later North Harbour. He made a comeback after undergoing a kidney transplant in 2004. In 1996 he married South African Tanya Rutter; they officially divorced in 2000. He married Fiona Taylor in 2003 and divorced her in 2008. He is officially the Rugby World Cup all-time top try scorer with 15 tries.

Jonah retired from rugby in 2007, but was persuaded to play in the Help For Heroes charity match at Twickenham a year later, although had to withdraw after injuring his ankle in training.

However, in June 2009, the BBC claimed he was close to joining French third division club Marseille Vitrolles and was expected to start in the first match of the new season.