Martin Johnson has given the Guinness Premiership his ringing endorsement as England build towards their two-Test New Zealand tour.

Up to half of the 32-man England squad selected for matches with the All Blacks in Auckland on June 14 and Christchurch seven days later could be involved in this weekend's play-off action.

And Johnson admits the Premiership's quality has impressed him during his watching brief of the past few weeks since his appointment as England manager.

He said: "I watched the Gloucester versus Bath game last Saturday and what a fantastic game that was. You want your players playing in games like that.

"No team really took their foot off the gas and with the play-offs, teams are playing right to the end of the season.

"In seasons past, sometimes if you were mid-table with four or five weeks to go, there wasn't the edge in games.

"Now, with European qualification and the play-offs, these guys are playing right to the end. We want them playing in a tough Premiership.

"The quality and intensity of the games those guys have played in would be the envy of some countries around the world."

England head to New Zealand on June 2, with Bath lock Steve Borthwick captaining a squad that features 12 of his World Cup colleagues from last autumn's tournament in France.

The list of injured absentees includes established international players like Jonny Wilkinson, Phil Vickery, Josh Lewsey, Simon Shaw and Lewis Moody, while leading tour contenders such as James Simpson-Daniel and Shane Geraghty face summer surgery.

But Gloucester backs Iain Balshaw and Lesley Vainikolo - regular, if debatable, RBS 6 Nations selections under former England head coach Brian Ashton this season - have been overlooked.

The squad also includes six Test rookies in London Irish trio Topsy Ojo, David Paice and Nick Kennedy, Harlequins scrum-half Danny Care, Northampton hooker Dylan Hartley and Bristol prop Jason Hobson.

Johnson added: "When you play New Zealand in New Zealand, that's one of the most difficult things to do in rugby.

"If we get ourselves organised and perform somewhere near the level we think this squad of players can perform at, we are going to be competitive.

"The All Blacks have lost some very senior and talented players post-World Cup.

"At any time, New Zealand have probably got a world XV playing overseas somewhere, and they've always been pretty competitive.

"They will come back after their World Cup disappointment and they will be very determined to start off against Ireland (on June 7) and then ourselves to reach their performance levels.

"I don't think there is any question of us under-estimating the All Blacks. It is as tough a tour as you will ever go on, going to New Zealand.

"They have lost a lot of players, but there never been a bad All Black team in the history of the game.

"They will have a few guys in there who weren't starters in previous seasons, but they will all have international experience and they will be a formidable side."

More news from SportingLife.com