Martin Johnson is 'worried' about Eddie Jones' England

Martin Johnson is “worried” by the lack of depth in English rugby ahead of a potential call-up for Hurricanes captain Brad Shields.

While born in New Zealand, the loose forward qualifies for England through his parents and could be fast-tracked into Eddie Jones’ squad for the tour to South Africa in June.

New Zealand Rugby chief executive Stew Tew confirmed last month that Shields – who will join Wasps at the end of the Super Rugby season – had requested an early release from his contract, paving the way for him to play international rugby for his adopted homeland.

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Jones is without a host of key players for the three-Test series, with Dylan Hartley, Courtney Lawes, George Kruis, Nathan Hughes, Jonathan Joseph and Anthony Watson all ruled out through injury.

Yet Johnson, who captained England to World Cup glory in 2003 before later coaching the national team, feels Shields’ selection would only demonstrate the lack of homegrown talent available.

“This has been coming for a while. Eddie’s doing it because he obviously doesn’t think he’s got enough talent in England,” Johnson said in an interview with the Times.

“It doesn’t offend me. It is worrying that he doesn’t think the players are in this country. We should be producing the players to have an international squad and be able to cover the natural unavailability. We don’t seem to have that depth at the moment.

“Guys like Sam Simmonds, Sam Underhill – get in and get injured. You want to see those guys. South Africa will be great for them if they can go and play there.

“I have been worried a while – where are the next players? If you have a team that’s going well and they play until they are quite old, by definition, the next generation are not coming through, not getting a chance.

“I’m sure some people would say they are but that they are not getting a chance to play because the Premiership clubs are just bringing in foreign players.”

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Johnson isn’t the first former England coach to voice his concern.

Former England head coach Sir Clive Woodward has deemed Brad Shields’ potential selection for England’s tour of South Africa as ‘intrinsically wrong’.

Woodward penned his thoughts in his column for Daily Mail, where he details why Shields’ selection makes little sense and urges Eddie Jones to look elsewhere.

Woodward believes that England should instead pick someone groomed through the English system.

“England reportedly want to pluck Shields out of the Super Rugby tournament, fly him 12,000 miles to here and then another 5500 to South Africa, before he returns to Wellington to complete his contract there,” writes Woodward.

“It makes zero sense and is intrinsically wrong. If he tours South Africa it will smack of a ‘transfer’ in soccer in the January window where players sign on deadline day and play on Saturday.”

Woodward said that just because Shields is eligible for England “that doesn’t mean others should be brushed aside in the stampede to select him.

“Shields is a product of the New Zealand system, won the world championship with their under 20s, has been the captain of the Hurricanes and been talked about as a possible All Black over the years.

“Why not promote from the English game, the Premiership and the RFU’s outstanding under-20 system? Let’s make a virtue of that.

“This is not what international rugby is all about and hands a psychological advantage to New Zealand, who secretly will be finding it highly amusing – no more than that.”

“The immediate promotion of Shields would be an opportunist deviation from the standards we have set ourselves and which many players have adhered to. A worrying, confusing precedent that threatens the vital bond between England players that is the lifeblood of international rugby.”

New Zealand Rugby are yet to confirm Shields’ release.