Johnson England's unsung hero

It is high time England acknowledged their debt to Martin Johnson, according to his pal Dean Richards - Leicester captain Johnson led the Tigers to a thrilling 25-13 Tetley's Bitter Cup fifth-round victory at Gloucester on Saturday.

Leicester director of rugby Richards said afterwards: 'Johnno gets very little credit for anything, but he is English rugby's unsung hero. When he is not playing, as we saw against Scotland last season, England are a very different side. And I thought he had a massive game today.'

Tigers were without a fistful of internationals for the match. But Johnson said: 'We were all up for it today.'