Back Page Reaction is a new feature that will be written each Sunday or Monday (after a weekend of rugby) by Scrum Five's editor. This feature will cover a few reactions from a rugby match that weekend. In this instance we will look at England v France's Back Page Reaction...



After a disappointing World Cup and weekend for English rugby many different writers have given their opinions on the future of Martin Johnson  and the match in general. In this edition I will look at and analyse what The Telegraph thought...


The Telegraph - Mick Cleary 
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"The World Cup for England ended not with noble defeat but abject disintegration. The homeward trek itself began with a disconsolate walk past French players celebrating in a huddle, their own slate of tournament sins wiped clean by a victory more emphatic than the scoreboard suggests."

• Mick Cleary has hit the nail on the head with this introduction to the match. Whatever you describe England's loss as it was in no way noble and the scoreboard did in no way reflect the quality of the match.
• Cleary really got it right here. England didn't deserve the scoreline to cover up such a disappointing performance but anyone who watched the match will know how badly they played.

"Nobody expected an overnight transformation of the limited side and style that characterised the 2007 campaign and because of his stellar achievements as a player both press and public have given Johnson a largesse that others would not have been granted. However, that cannot be allowed to cloud a proper assessment of his record."

•  As well as this introduction, that is interestingly worded, Moore also said in his headline "England manager Martin Johnson must pay the price for failure after Rugby World Cup debacle."
• Brian Moore is effectively highlighting that just because Johnson may have good rugby knowledge and experience it shouldn't mean the media can cover up the errors he made in this, quite frankly, awful campaign.