RUGBY UNION: Johnson eyes up role for England (From Witney Gazette)

RUGBY UNION: Johnson eyes up role for England

10:00am Thursday 21st February 2013 in Rugby By Ed Mezzetti, Sports reporter specialising in Rugby, Cricket and Athletics. Call me on 01865 425456

Former Chinnor flanker Tom Johnson hopes signing a new contract with Exeter Chiefs can help him remain in the England set-up.

The 30-year-old, who is recovering from a knee injury, has penned a new one-year deal with Exeter – London Welsh’s hosts in the Aviva Premiership on Saturday.

“I’m really happy down here,” Johnson said. “A lot of it is to do with the area, which I’m very fond of, and the boys here at the club.

“Both those things were important to me, as was staying within the current England set-up.

“Exeter have helped to get me to that position, so I didn’t really want to go to another club and almost start from fresh again.”

Meanwhile, Johnson’s former back-row partner at Chinnor, Dave Seymour, praised Sale Sharks’ fans for their support in Sunday’s 26-25 victory over Welsh at the Kassam Stadium.

Sale captain Seymour said: “We gave it everything we had for the whole 80 minutes in what was a must-win game for us.

“The fans were just amazing before the game as we warmed up and then throughout the 80 minutes of the match.

“I would like to thank them all for their efforts and we, as a team, were so pleased we could get the result we all wanted.”