Johnson suffers a crash landing

By JULIE ASH

New Zealand was probably the last place England's World Cup winning captain Martin Johnson wanted to be yesterday following his former side's thrashing by the All Blacks.

Johnson arrived in Auckland for a short promotional tour and holiday with his Kiwi wife Kay and young daughter Molly.

Johnson, who played 84 games for England, was in the air during Saturday's game and admitted he was a "little surprised" at the score.

"I was disappointed obviously. But New Zealand beat Australia heavily last year and South Africa. If you don't play well over here you are going to come out on the wrong end of the score.

"Beating the All Blacks over here is probably one of the hardest things to do in rugby.

"It was a big England forward pack but the All Blacks were revved up to do well against it ... they played very well from the start."

Johnson played under Graham Henry in the 2001 Lions team and said the new All Black coach had a challenging road ahead.

"He has this season and then the Lions next year ... he will be very keen to do well.

"The players will be very keen to do well for a new coach and beat England.

"But that is what it is all about. The England guys would have been just as keen to win here."

Johnson said there were no excuses for the loss, but he thought some of the players might be jaded.

"They have probably been going for two years solid now without a break so that is difficult on them and they pride themselves on being fit and tough and I am sure they will bounce back in Auckland."

Following their win in Australia last year, England have failed to live up to their world champion status. Saturday's loss follows a disappointing third in the Six Nations championships.

"Some of the guys are still playing very well but some have gone and there will be a bit of a rebuilding phase," Johnson said.

He might catch up with his former team in Auckland this week but was unsure whether he would attend the second test.

"When you have finished playing it is not great hanging around test matches. Maybe I'll just watch it on TV."