England to pay respects in quake zone

A goodwill visit to Christchurch by England's team before their first match of Rugby World Cup 2011 is the right thing to do, manager Martin Johnson said on Thursday.

Christchurch was due to host England's pool fixtures against Argentina and Georgia but after the city was hit with a devastating earthquake in February, killing 181, the matches were moved to Dunedin.

A couple of Johnson's former teammates play for the Canterbury Crusaders, the Super Rugby team from Christchurch.

"I think my wife got hold of a couple of them through various social networks and they were living in tents or something on a school field at that point," Johnson said.

"You know when you hear the stories and the amount of people out of those homes, and the amount of devastation there, you can’t really understand.

"I don’t really know what to expect. I’ve never been in this situation before but it’s the right thing that we go up and show our support.''

Captain Lewis Moody echoed those sentiments.

"Any opportunity to get there and show our support is right," said Moody.