Johnson favours scare tactics

Martin Johnson has warned England they must regain the "intimidating factor" if they are to have a chance of mounting a credible World Cup defence by beefing up the physical aspects of their game.

Johnson knows exactly what it takes to win the competition, having led by example in the 2003 triumph in Australia.

"People talk about the intimidating factor and that's the game. It's physical. You have to win the collisions - you have to win that battle," he said.

"Look at New Zealand. They win a huge amount of the breakdown situations. Those areas have become massively competitive. We have gone away a bit from being very competitive at the breakdown.

"We need to get back to what we do well. Make it difficult for teams to win the ball.

"If you let teams win ball in those areas, they're going to chuck pride in your face. The best way to defend is to make it very difficult for them to recycle the ball."