England 16-9 Argentina, Twickenham, November 14
Johnson wary of dark cloud on horizon
Scrum.com
November 14, 2009
England reflect on a narrow victory over Argentina, England v Argentina, Twickenham, England, November 14, 2009
England trudge off the field following their far from impressive victory over Argentina at Twickenham © Getty Images
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England manager Martin Johnson has warned his side that they face a harsh lesson at the hands of the All Blacks unless they right the wrongs that blighted their narrow victory over Argentina on Saturday.

Johnson's side laboured to an uninspiring 16-9 victory over the Pumas at Twickenham thanks to a late try from winger Matt Banahan but the result failed to mask an error-ridden display from the hosts. And the England boss is all too aware that a similar performance next weekend will be punished far more ruthlessly by the All Blacks.

New Zealand romped to a record 32-6 victory at Twickenham this time last year and Johnson and his players are under increasing pressure to raise their game and prevent a repeat.

"If the All Blacks are anything they are consistent in their performance and so we need to be a lot, lot better," admitted Johnson after his side were booed and jeered by a frustrated home crowd. "If we make those same mistakes we will be in big trouble. It was a tough game to watch. It was frustrating for all of us. We have to get them back up for next week.

"Fear is always there, it is (about) what you turn that into and we need to turn that into a spirited display against the All Blacks. The guys need to trust themselves a lot more. You have to put a performance in to win the game.

"For all the things we didn't do well against Argentina we ultimately won. I would take those mistakes with a win next week, but I don't think that will happen."

England went into the break loacked at 9-9 and Johnson was concerned his side were about to implode.

"Impatience and frustration could have really killed us at that point," said Johnson. "As a team we were clearly nervous and became more nervous as a few individual errors happened.

"When you are at home and expected to win, the pressure was far more on us than it was on them. We said 'Let's make good decisions. If there is an opportunity we will go, if not we will kick it back and be patient'.

"The risk was that we could almost hand the game to them in the second half if we were not patient. The coaches were good at that. I got a little bit impatient at times in the second half but ultimately we got the try. It was a long 80 minutes to watch, I have probably aged 20 years, but we won the game. If we had lost it would have been even worse.

"Ultimately you have to win the game however you can and we did that. If it was a World Cup knockout game or a big pool match that would be enough."

Flanker Lewis Moody claimed the man-of-the-match honour at a rain and wind-swept Twickenham but admitted further improvement would be required against the All Blacks.

"We have big strides to make before the New Zealand game. You can't take away the impact a win makes. It gives you that bit more confidence going into training. You tweak things and try things a bit more.

"We are going to have to be far better in many areas, but we are excited about playing the All Blacks. I love playing them. I remember scoring a try in my first game against them. That was huge. Nothing changes. Playing them is still a massive incentive. We go in as underdogs but a victory does huge things for your confidence."

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