• England v New Zealand, Twickenham

Johnson tells England to learn from All Blacks

Martin Johnson hands a first Twickenham start to Ben Youngs © Getty Images

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Martin Johnson has warned his England players to learn from New Zealand's recent defeat to Australia, insisting mistakes decide matches.

England welcome the All Blacks to Twickenham on Saturday boosted by the return of prop Andrew Sheridan, who is back in the fold for the first time in 20 months after a shoulder injury. Johnson also has captain Lewis Moody fit following a recent spell on the sidelines due to a bruised retina.

The England coach watched with intrigue as New Zealand suffered a last-gasp defeat to Australia last week, and he warned his players that the smallest of decisions influence whether the game is won or lost.

"That's Test rugby. A lot of the things we've been talking about with our players is that we're playing against the top sides in the world, mistakes get punished, and New Zealand conceded four and Australia three," explained Johnson.

"If you get it wrong defensively, they'll take those chances. So we have to be on it from the first kick-off, we've been saying that since we got together in August. That's a challenge when you play the All Blacks. The margins are tight.

"The nature of the game is that we don't give penalties and free-kicks away."

Asked if the All Blacks would suffer a dent to their confidence following their defeat in Hong Kong, Johnson replied: "I don't think so. They're a pretty mature side, there are a lot of veterans in there. They will have seen the mistakes they made but, had they done things slightly differently at the end, they probably would have won it. Players have to get it right for 80 minutes. But it won't affect their self-belief, you don't lose that overnight."

Commenting on the potential impact that the return of the mountainous Sheridan could have, Johnson admitted he believes he can get more out of the Sale Shark than under previous regimes.

"He's a very strong player, we know that. We believe we can get more out of Andy with the way we play and the way we want to use him. He had a big injury last year and hasn't played for us since March 2009. Scrummaging wise, the Kiwis are very competitive themselves so it's going to be a big challenge for our entire front-row."

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