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Johnson backs Churchill repeat

Tuesday 13th May 2008

Confident man: Bates grooming next generation

England Team Manager Martin Johnson has backed coach Steve Bates in the Saxons' quest for a second successive Churchill Cup crown.

The Saxons travel to North America for the June tournament with the added incentive of defending their Cup, and England's new supremo has branded Bates' squad "a very talented bunch."

"Certainly when we pick the two 32-man Elite Player Squads (EPS) on July 1, it will be very, very competitive," Johnson purred.

While Johnson will not travel to North America or New Zealand, he is due to follow the progress of England's top two squads thanks to Sky Sports' live coverage of all England's matches.

And Bates has joined the former lock in believing that the new deal between club and country will give the Saxons players all the motivation they need.

"Under the new agreement the pathway to the seniors is pretty well mapped out," he said.

"Because we can only make limited changes to the squads, there will be more continuity between the squads. If someone at the top drops out, the next player down will step up.

"And I'll be telling the players that their opportunities to progress will be hugely improved if we win the tournament."

According to Bates, Guinness Premiership experience could be the vital ingredient in the Saxons' recipe for repeated success against their forthcoming opponents.

"The squad is full of bright young prospects and we're going with high expectations of repeating last year's success," he said.

"We'll be trying to impose the advantages of the Premiership on the tournament by playing hard, fast rugby. Not many other teams will have that kind of experience but I'm confident we have the resources to do it."

"Our biggest challenge will be getting the players on the same wavelength in such a short space of time."

The squad meets up on Sunday June 1, before flying to Ottawa the following day where they will have just five days to prepare for the opening match the following Saturday.

After pool matches against the USA (Ottawa, June 7) and Ireland A (Toronto, June 14), the Saxons will then be hoping to secure a place in Chicago's final the following Saturday, where they will face either Scotland A, Argentina XV or Canada.

Despite his young side, Bates will be managing a handful of experienced heads, especially the likes of England hooker George Chuter and, although he has no caps to his name, Harlequins flanker and captain Will Skinner.

"I felt we needed someone with experience as captain and Will's been doing a great job with Quins and he knows the Saxons set up," explained Newcastle's Interim Coach.

"He's a very positive guy and is very well respected within the squad, so he seemed like the obvious choice to lead the squad."

However, Bates admitted that selection for the summer trip was not an easy process following impressive displays from other unfortunate non-tourees.

"Selection was really difficult, not in terms of quality or talent, but because of the depth we have to pick from in so many positions," he added.

"There was some involvement from the senior coaches who know who they want to have a look at, then there was large groups of players who have performed so well for us in the Six Nations or for their clubs throughout the season.

"There are a number of players who might feel they have been overlooked and discussions in certain areas were very tight.

"There's still a lot of rugby to be played with the semi-finals and final of the Guinness Premiership and the game against the Barbarians the day before we leave, which may feature some of our players.

"We might well see some changes yet."