There has been a lot of fuss in recent days about French TV directors not giving rugby fans the full picture. In that particular department, sadly, there remains a runaway market leader. To say the Rugby Football Union’s public response to England’s disappointing Six Nations campaign has failed to supply all the relevant angles is an understatement.
In an ideal world, there would have been a media conference with Bill Sweeney, the RFU’s chief executive, alongside Steve Borthwick, his head coach, presenting a united, purposeful front and outlining precisely why the status quo needs preserving despite England having racked up four championship defeats for the first time since 1976. Instead, there was only a “Don’t tell ‘em, Pike” statement on email best summarised in four words: “Nothing to see here.”
There are drawbacks with this approach, the primary one being that England fans are not stupid. “England’s underperformance across the Six Nations was not the result of a singular failure or issue,” read the RFU statement. Blimey, does that imply multiple failings? In which case, in a high-performance environment, you might not expect the entire management team to be rubber-stamped in their roles through to the next World Cup.
On closer inspection, the main deficiencies were seemingly “discipline, execution of opportunities and making the most of key moments”. Well, blow us all down. Next they’ll be saying the key to winning matches is scoring more points than the opposition. Or that Test rugby is a game of two halves. Even if you don’t want to divulge all your trade secrets to the opposition the lack of transparency invites more questions than answers.
It leaves everyone else to try to read between the lines of the beige-est statement since magnolia became the household paint of choice. The truth of the matter, as detailed in these pages within days of the Six Nations ending, is there was never any real appetite within the RFU to roll the dice. Doing so, apart from anything else, would have meant wooing and parachuting in a top-class replacement at a time when the vast majority of leading candidates are contracted elsewhere.
Not only can the RFU ill afford to dish out millions more in severance payments – having previously sacked Eddie Jones in the run-up to the 2023 World Cup – but the countdown to the 2027 World Cup has long since begun. Better the devil you know when you are due to run out against the world champions South Africa in Johannesburg in under two months’ time.
But what happens should England go down in a heap at Ellis Park, slip up against Fiji at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium and then lose again in Argentina? RFU sources insist Borthwick and co have been backed until Australia but the statement is shy of absolutely spelling that out. Maybe the tiniest bit of wriggle room is being reserved, just in case?
Ultimately, though, an opportunity to reset the wider narrative has been spurned. If Borthwick is absolutely the right man to be supreme leader – and no one disputes he is a keen-eyed technical coach – then say so. If the structure of this England setup is tip-top, shout it out loud and proud. Sometimes it feels like the biggest problem with English rugby – and why it so often struggles to add up to the sum of its parts – is less about the identity of the head coach than the clunky machinery beneath him.
The big hope, of course, is that England’s sharply improved effort last time out against France in Paris, when they lost 48-46 to the champions, was a more accurate reflection of their true selves. The weight of expectation was largely absent, yes, but everyone with a pair of eyes could see the talent that exists when it is given the licence and encouragement to blossom.
Maybe it will all come good again. Few South Africans will be expecting a huge amount from the visitors at Ellis Park, a situation in which England often respond positively. Over the next 18 months, either way, the RFU will be praying for further evidence that coaches, conditioning staff and players are on the same wavelength and pursuing a gameplan that complements the squad they have. If not, Borthwick will not be the only one under renewed pressure.
