Johnson: England is not excessively conservative

LONDON (AP) -England team manager Martin Johnson has defended himself against accusations of excessive conservatism in selection and tactics for this month's test matches.

Bolstered by several experienced players, an injury-hit team avoided the sort of heavy losses that England was dealt by the southern hemisphere nations a year ago.

But Johnson still attracted criticism from fans and commentators for leaving out the likes of Northampton back Ben Foden against Australia, Argentina and New Zealand.

The 2003 World Cup-winning captain responded by suggesting that introducing young talent too early would be counterproductive for the team and players' development.

"I'm a practical guy,'' Johnson said. "When you're playing test rugby, people have that idea that you have to be creative and you need the mavericks.

"Well, it's a brutal game out there, let me tell you that, and if you put guys in there that aren't ready, they're going to get spat out very, very quickly.''

Something like that happened in 1998 when an inexperienced squad toured Australia, New Zealand and South Africa and returned home beaten heavily in all four of its test matches.

While Jonny Wilkinson graduated from the so-called "Tour of Hell'' to win the World Cup five years later and become rugby union's all-time leading point scorer, none of the seven players that made their debut in the tour-opening 76-0 loss in Brisbane played internationally after 1998.

That is what Johnson is hoping to avoid with the likes of Foden and backrower Courtney Lawes.

Plenty of fans wanted Lawes drafted in following an 18-9 loss to Australia on Nov. 9 but Johnson resisted the temptation and said the nature of the 16-9 win over Argentina that followed vindicated his decision.

"People clamored for Courtney to play but he stayed on the bench for the Argentina game and we ended up scrapping on our line,'' Johnson said. "Was that the right call to have two bigger more experienced guys out there?

"Yeah, I think it probably was.''

England is touring Australia for two tests next year and is negotiating to play three midweek matches. There would be a game before each of the tests in Sydney and Perth, with the other in New Zealand.

Johnson hopes to take a larger squad so he can give experience to more players without necessarily exposing them to the rigors of a full test match.

Johnson and director of rugby Rob Andrew agree that Foden and Mathew Tait will benefit from playing in a fixed position for their club sides. They could be in contention for regular squad places for the Six Nations starting in February.

Tait has played 32 times since his debut in 2005 but started only 15 of those games and is still just 23.

He almost scored a breathtaking solo try in the 2007 World Cup final but has struggled because of injury and his ability to play at center, wing and fullback.

"He looks for the first time in two or three seasons that he's just starting to settle at playing at outside center,'' Andrew said. "He was falling into this category of utility player who can play fullback, who can play wing who can play in the center and found himself an ideal benchman for a test match.

"They've had maybe a couple of years of their career where they've floated around as this utility player. What they need, and Mathew is a good example of this, is a really good run at outside center playing well so he can find his feet.''

Foden is settling in at fullback for Sale, although he may find his path to that position in the England side blocked by Delon Armitage and Mark Cueto.

Cueto stood in for the injured Armitage this month and was one of the players singled out by Johnson for his leadership in the squad. Armitage should be fit to return for the Six Nations alongside the likes of Riki Flutey, Nick Easter and Andrew Sheridan.