England Rugby Coach Martin Johnson Resigns

Well I think we all may have seen this coming, Martin Johnson has resigned as England Rugby coach on Wednesday and I for one am surprised it didn’t come a little sooner.

The controversy surrounding the team has been huge lately, in particular the issues surrounding the World Cup, drunken liaisons, dwarf throwing, and jumping off ferries being some of the more outrageous antics.

This resignation has come days after Mike Tindall was fined £25,000 and sacked from playing for the England team after the inappropriate behaviour displayed at the World Cup. 

I think I can speak on behalf of many rugby fans when I say this shake up is definitely needed after the embarrassment the country faced seeing our rugby players, rather than pushing themselves to their limits on the field, went off target and did so in bars and clubs.

Ironically Johnson resigned at the eight year anniversary of their win over France at the World Cup when he was captain, just seven days later beating Australia to claim the Webb Ellis Cup. What could definitely be described as a much more successful time for Johnson and his team mates.

Although resigning he refused to pass on the blame for the latest drama which seemed to reflect their performance in their early World Cup exit. There has been just 21 wins in 40 tests since Johnson took over in 2008 and now there is speculation on the fitness of the players.

So now we look to who will replace Martin Johnson with just six weeks before England is due to announce its six nations squad. North Hampton’s Jim Mallinder is supposed to be the lead candidate at this moment in time.

All in all it could be argued that Johnson didn’t really have the experience to take on such a huge roll and put his own stamp on what could have been a great progression for him and for the England team. Yes, they did win the six nations but after the disgraceful behaviour at the World Cup, heads had to roll, and it’s no surprise that Johnson was somewhere on that list.

In the press conference where he revealed his resignation Johnson said:

“I've given this a huge amount of thought since we returned from the World Cup and didn't come to this decision lightly. I think it's in the best interests of myself and the England team that I don't continue on into next year.’