Woodward: Johnson could be exposed

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Johnson was appointed as England's team manager despite not having held a senior coaching job since retiring as a player in 2003 - and he takes charge for the first time in Saturday's Test against the Pacific Islanders.

Woodward is convinced Johnson has the character to cope with the demands of the position - but fears the Rugby Football Union are not united behind him. He said: "Martin is very much on his own. I see no-one at Twickenham who can really help him."

He added: "There is no-one behind the scenes who can question what he is doing because there is no-one who is qualified at Twickenham to make those calls.

"I am still not convinced the whole organisation is behind Martin.

"I hope it is but he has to deliver that. If it is not, it is up to him. He is now in charge and he has got to take full accountability for delivering the team. The buck stops with him.

"I don't think there is any better person to give that responsibility to. He is Martin Johnson, arguably one of the most respected players in the world.

"He has got to take that champion mentality across to being a coach."

But Woodward is concerned that Johnson does not have enough experience in playing the off-field games he believes can be so important in creating the right environment.

"I think we would all be a lot more confident if he had spent three or four more years coaching at Leicester or somewhere, where he was coming from with a proven track record of being a chess player," Woodward told Sky Sports' Rugby Club. He's a warrior, we're about to find out now, can he play chess?"