Johnson's raring to go

Exeter Chiefs flanker Tom Johnson admits he cannot wait to play alongside some of the exciting talent selected by coach Stuart Lancaster for England’s summer tour of South America.

Johnson was named among the 32-man squad for the three-match series in Uruguay and Argentina starting in June, preceded by a date with the Barbarians at Twickenham on May 26.

With some members of Lancaster’s Six Nations side either on the British and Irish Lions tour to Australia or resting, the England coach has called on a number of rising stars who have shone brightly in the Aviva Premiership this season.

The likes of Christian Wade, Jonny May and Marland Yarde will give England exciting fire-power out wide, while Lancaster will also get a close look at the explosive potential of Wasps powerhouse Billy Vunipola.

All of which means Johnson, who has five full England caps to his name already, cannot wait to get going.

He said: “I’m really looking forward to it. I think it’s a really good squad, in terms of some of the boys who have been on fire for their clubs this season.

“I think the Gloucester contingent is really exciting as well, with the backs connection [May, Freddie Burns and Billy Twelvetrees], and with Tom Wood as captain, he’s a really experienced guy.

“We’ll go into the series expecting quite a lot – I can’t wait.”

The 30-year-old admitted he was unsure whether his injury-hit end to the season – he hasn’t featured since injuring his knee against Leinster in January – would count against him ahead of the team announcement.

But when Chiefs head coach Rob Baxter, who will form part of Lancaster’s coaching contingent for the tour, gave him the nod, Graham Rowntree confirmed his selection personally when the squad was announced on Wednesday.

“Being in the EPS [Elite Player Squad] you are always hopeful that you are going to be involved,” said Johnson. “It wasn’t like I wasn’t fit, or haven’t been fit for a while, but you always anxious if you haven’t played for a bit.

“So obviously I was very pleased to get that call. Rob spoke to me, just to say I was going on the tour and to congratulate me, then I had a quick chat with Graham Rowntree on Wednesday.

“Graham is still very much the England forwards coach,  so he’s  been very involved in the team selection. He just gave me a heads-up and we had a chat, which was really good. I just want to play as much as possible, that goes without saying.

“I’m sure the management have got an idea of the sort of team they want to put out. But I’m just itching to go and get some rugby under my belt again.”

So, good news for Johnson, less so for the Sandy Park strength and conditioning coaches who might have been thinking they had done their jobs for the season.

“I roped in a couple of the conditioners here to help me out for a couple of days,” said Johnson. “And then it’s off to the mini-camp on Monday until Thursday, and then back up the following week for the Barbarians training week. I’ll just try to train as hard as I can and try to impress during next week. And then we’ll have the Barbarians build-up week and  see where the cards fall.”

One thing is for sure, the conditions in South America will be quite unlike anything Johnson or his England team-mates will have played on for some time – not that he is against the idea of fast-flowing rugby on solid ground.

“The pitches will be conducive to good rugby,” he said. “So it’s not going to be like the Six Nations with wind and rain to contend with, it’s going to test our fitness and ball skills to be sure.”

Following the Barbarians game, England play a South American XV in Montevideo on June 2, before Tests against the Pumas in Salta and Buenos Aires on June 8 and 15.