It's official – Eddie Jones' appointment
has completed what has long been suspected – England Rugby have run out of ideas.
It shouldn't be a surprise. It's the same
in most other aspects of their sport, and possibly even their commercial and
other fields.
The country that gave the world many of
their competitive sports while spreading their Empire around the world has
admitted defeat. They can't do it on their own.
So what are we going to see?
Will we see a distinctive England style of
rugby, a style capable of putting the good old red rose back where it belongs?
Hardly.
Will we see an England united to the point
where it sweeps all before it in an on-going demonstration of dominance such as
the All Blacks have just completed? Unlikely.
Will England's players suddenly unleash
skills, consistently and for 80 minutes, that have hitherto lain dormant
allowing them to overcome all odds and enjoy a sustained period of success?
Difficult to believe.
Why?
England is like South Africa. Its internal
politics always let it down when it comes to the crunch.
Consider what happened to the Springboks
this year, and every time they get to a vital stage of their season.
Someone with a political axe to grind
emerges from the woodwork to claim race quotas are not being met and there
needs to be some action to ensure they are.
It's a constant weight on their game and
can't help but cause destabilisation in their side. Japan's win over South
Africa this year is a classic example of that.
England are no different. They can't get
their team together long enough to understand what their requirements are. What
a waste of time and money it was sending their team to the high altitude of
Colorado to supercharge their fitness for their campaign.
Who is advising them of this sort of rubbish?
Where was the All Blacks' need for high altitude training? Where did Australia
have their pre-tournament time together? At Notre Dame, slap bang in the middle
of the American prairie, no altitude training there.
And then there are their clubs. It's a
situation tailor-made for disaster, just like their football, just like their
cricket.
In reality Wales, Ireland and Scotland are
little better.
With the introduction of professional
leagues, there are any number of chances for home-grown coaches to learn in the
white-hot atmosphere those competitions generate.
But it is clear something is rotten in the
state of Denmark.
Why have none of these countries developed
and sustained a coaching pyramid?
Is it down to interference from
administrators and board members who think they know best?
That has to be suspected. It's all about
results, yet it isn't.
How can you achieve success when everyone
is sticking their oar in?
All of this without even starting to think
about the role of their media in this whole charade – that's completely another
story.
Sympathy has to be extended to those
coaches who are being denied their right to learn at the highest levels for the
betterment of the game in their regions.
Sport should be an expression of the
culture of the team playing whatever game is involved just as the All Blacks
represent the New Zealand style, and Brazil represent the style and flair of
their country, and as the basketballing dream teams of the United States
represent all that is glitz and glamour of their country.
Sadly, Home Nations rugby is doomed to be only
a variation on a theme, a Southern Hemisphere theme.
What a World Cup it will be when the
world's top nations come together and play rugby that best represents their
respective countries. That would be the greatest World Cup of all.
But clearly it is going to be a long time
coming.
No comments:
Post a Comment