WILKINSON HAS ENGLAND FUTURE

Cipriani heads to New Zealand next month as the No.1 fly-half, while Wilkinson – the only man dropped by ex-coach Brian Ashton after the Murrayfield nightmare - recovers from the shoulder surgery he had last Monday.

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Jonno said: "Jonny has had a 10-year England career and he has done what he has done – hopefully he will back at the start of next season playing fantastically well and be in the mix. It is a very competitive position and that's great.

Casualty

"There are other guys playing very, very well but he will reap the benefit of his huge experience – he has been there and done it all over the world and he is Jonny.

"If he was fit to tour he probably would have been part of the squad but he wasn't. It was a definite black and white decision – he is injured so he is not there."

Wilko is one of a number of England stars sidelined this summer – Shane Geraghty, Phil Vickery, Lewis Moody, Harry Ellis, James Simpson-Daniel, Simon Shaw and Josh Lewsey are all on the casualty list.

Johnson added: "Once you know a guy is not going and has had surgery that's that. Hopefully Jonny will get through his rehab and he will be back better than ever."

Jonno has put his stamp on this trip – even though he will not be going down under because his wife, Kay, is expecting their second child.

The legendary lock has named his former second row partner Steve Borthwick as skipper – in place of the crocked Vickery – and says the job is there for the Bath man if he does the business in Kiwi Land.

Johnson added: "It was an easy decision – Steve is entirely capable of doing a fantastic job of being the England captain.

"There were other guys contending but I am very comfortable with him being captain and I would be very comfortable with Mike Tindall being captain but I think Steve is the right guy now.

"We will do everything to help him do his job. He has some very strong opinions on things.

"He is captain for the tour. As a general policy your captain has to be worth his place. I would not expect anyone in the England team to expect to be named England captain for a period of time.

"He goes on the tour and we pick another squad in July. We will pick that squad based on players and pick a captain. He has got it at the moment and we shall see. It is a big position but if you create the right environment, the right team and the right leaders it is a lot easier for that guy to do that job.

Hardman

"I want the captain and the senior players to be influential. Any successful side I have been involved in the senior players have been hugely influential – from the early stages of my England career to the latter stages and in all my times at Leicester and even abroad when I played in New Zealand. You have a core of guys and it is their team."

Johnson will be 12,000 miles while England play Test matches against the All Blacks in Auckland and Christchurch, so Rob Andrew will have the final say on selectio but the pair will be in constant contact over the phone.

Andrew said: "On the tour I will make the final decision – it might be half an hour before the game or the night before. So it will be my call."

Hardman Johnson – who does not officially start his job as England manager until 1 July - has revealed a softer side to his character. He personally rang all the players who were involved in the Six Nations but were chopped from the tour party.

Sir Clive Woodward famously dropped players by email but Jonno picked up the phone to speak to the likes of Lesley Vainikolo and Iain Balshaw to explain why they were out of the frame.

He said: "I thought it was just common courtesy for the guys who were in the last squad. They were the guys who were wearing the shirt.

"I had a conversation with Mark Cueto about where he is - if you don't talk to them you are never going to know. I spoke to a few of the directors of rugby about what is happening with their players and I just regard that as part of the job."

England play the All Blacks in Auckland on 14 June and in Christchurch a week later.