The 2003 Rugby World Cup-winning captain watched on as Wales fell to a record defeat to England in Cardiff last year, but he says this year could be different
14:55, 06 Feb 2026Updated 17:06, 06 Feb 2026
Johnson says Wales could “make it tough” for England this weekend(Image: Dominic Lipinski/PA Media Assignments)
England legend Martin Johnson says he is expecting Wales to make it tough for Steve Borthwick’s side in their Six Nations opener this weekend, despite being taken aback by how they crumbled at home in Cardiff last year.
Steve Tandy’s men head to Twickenham on Saturday as massive underdogs, having not won a championship match since March 2023 and finishing the last two tournaments with the Wooden Spoon. By contrast, England go into the match on an 11-game winning streak and are widely seen as the team to challenge defending champions France for this year’s title.
The two sides met on the final weekend of last year’s championship and it marked one of the darkest days in Welsh rugby history, as Borthwick’s men ran riot at the Principality Stadium, scoring 10 tries to inflict a record 68-14 defeat on Wales in a game that was over as a contest before half-time.
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Johnson was in Cardiff that day on punditry duty for the BBC and admits that the writing was on the wall for Wales nearly right away, with his fellow pundit Sam Warburton left aghast when Maro Itoje opened the scoring for the visitors after just three minutes.
However, speaking to WalesOnline as part of Greene King’s new ‘Fans Reunited’ campaign – encouraging customers to reconnect with friends by watching Six Nations matches at one of their pubs – the 2003 Rugby World Cup-winning captain admitted that, while he believes England will win, he expects a different kind of match to unfold at Twickenham this weekend.
“I think England will win, but that’s not rocket science,” he said. “Who would have thought it would have been the score it was last year in Cardiff? England scored after just a few minutes last year, and far too easily.
“I remember doing the TV and I looked over at Sam Warburton and he was like ‘Christ, you can’t concede that simple a try at that stage of the game. That’s a try you concede in the last four minutes when you’ve already won the game, not the first four minutes’.
“The writing was on the wall very early last year. Wales, obviously, have got to stay in the game as long as they can, make it difficult and give themselves belief and hope and go from there. Often, when you do that, you find yourselves in a game, then it’s anyone’s.”
(Image: Getty Images)
Johnson added: “While I think England will win, I don’t think it will be as big or as comfortable as people are making out. It’s the first game of the tournament, Wales should be off their boxes for that game in terms of getting stuck in. They’ve got nothing to lose.
“What if they charge a kick down or intercept a pass? If they get down there and score and England are half-asleep and they go 10-nil down after 20 minutes, they don’t look so cool then.
“It’s not outside the realm of possibility that Wales could put in a really good performance and make it tough. I think they will make it a lot tougher than people are expecting, to be honest.”
While he doesn’t believe Wales will be subjected to the same humiliation they suffered at home to England last March – something which he says English fans took no delight in seeing – Johnson foresees another difficult campaign for Tandy’s side, with a shortened competition set to leave them at a disadvantage.
Martin Johnson launches Greene King’s new Fans Reunited campaign
“It’s going to be a tough tournament for them I think, it’s five games in six weeks,” said the 55-year-old. “It’s going to be attritional, squad depth will be more important in this tournament than ever before. If you start picking up injuries and losses, then it could get tough, but then that’s the same for anyone.
“I don’t think any English fans in Cardiff last year took any delight in that performance and winning like that,” he added. “It’s interesting, I’ve been doing TV work for six and seven years and it seems like every year the Welsh fans are like ‘Oh, we’re not going to be very good this year’.
“Somehow for three or four years of that, they were, they played well and won the Grand Slam in 2019 and another title in 2021. A lot of the old guard were playing well and still getting rolled out, and that just seems to have ended all in one go.
“It’s left a squad with not a huge amount of experience in there, probably short of world-class players and you’ve got a lot of young guys in there thrown in, trying to find their way, which is difficult.”
Johnson and former England teammate Jason Robinson have launched a new campaign encouraging people to reconnect with old friends during the Six Nations(Image: PA)
Wales have been given little to no chance of kicking off their new Six Nations campaign with a win this weekend, with England not just heavy favourites for Saturday’s clash, but tipped to challenge for their first title since 2020.
While such a tag is unsurprising, Johnson is wary of the weight of expectation on Borthwick’s men and admits a strong start is needed this weekend to show they are capable of rising to the occasion.
“You hear lots of things in tournaments that you’ve got to set your stall out,” he said. “Just go out there and get the game won, then go from there.
“Before the tournament, everyone is making their predictions and everyone thinks England are going to win this game comfortably, I always worry when people think like that. That’s the overriding thought, because that’s where you get yourself into trouble.
“I think there’s more expectation on England and that’s what I’m worried about. They’ve got to deal with that. If they don’t beat Wales comfortably or people criticise the performance, [the expectation] doesn’t always ring true.
“Good teams play well,” Johnson added. “It doesn’t matter who the opposition is, you go out there, hit your standard of performance and go from there. That’s what England need to do.”
Martin Johnson was speaking to WalesOnline as part of Greene King’s ‘Fans Reunited’ campaign, which is giving customers the opportunity to reconnect with friends by watching a Guinness Six Nations match at one of their pubs. Those that do, will be offered a pint on the house (Terms and conditions apply). You can find more information about the campaign here.
“Rugby has a unique way of bringing people together,” said Johnson. “Friendships formed through sport are unbreakable, and the ones that endure last a lifetime – exactly what Greene King’s Fans Reunited campaign celebrates.
“Combined with the atmosphere of the pub, it takes the experience to the next level. It’s not just about the game; it’s about creating moments that reconnect old friends and strengthen the sense of community that makes rugby, and Fans Reunited, so special.”