Mark Johnson passes first test

12-11-2008 10:10

The Pacific Islanders have many fine players but it is essentially a scratch side and they will always suffer for the lack of time they spend together preparing for matches.

At the end there was a general feeling that it had been a satisfactory day's work, with a ready acknowledgement from both coaching staff and players.

Among the positives for England were a bright display by scrum-half Danny Care and an impressive debut by full-back Delon Armitage, who was named man of the match and told by Johnson it was the most impressive debut he had seen.

Paul Sackey ran in England's first try in an assured performance.

His words could equally have applied to himself, because the new England boss was pretty much note perfect in his first game in charge.

There were also promising signs of England finding balance in their approach, with drives around the fringes and high kicks mixed in with fluid passing down the line to bring in the rapid back three.

Johnson has been at pains to play down the significance one man should have, pointing out that the entire coaching staff have a role to play in preparing the side and that ultimately it is down to the players how well England do.