How can England retain the World Cup on the back of such a poor tour?
As England prepare to defend their World Cup trophy, once again domestic and commercial commitments look to compromise international success.
A sub-standard and lethargic England team had the stuffing knocked out of them at altitude in the heartland of South African rugby - Bloemfontein - on Saturday. By half-time the score was 30-3 in the Springboks’ favour, and the game was effectively over; the final score - 58-10 - was a record win for the Boks against England. At the beginning of their international season, the win will be a fillip to South African confidence. The battered, weary England squad will trudge on to Pretoria this weekend for another mauling.
What is most worrying for Brian Ashton is that his team will play Jake White’s team in Pool A in the World Cup on 14th September - only three and a half months away. Ashton’s squad, robbed of many stars thanks to club commitments, a long winter programme, and weakened further by a 72-hour lurgy, had their preparations for this first Test seriously disrupted, and started - quite rightly - as underdogs.
In truth they were never expecting to win with such a rag-tag touring squad, coined “plumbers and decorators and part-time rugby players” by the South African press and “Dad’s army” by the English papers. That England can only field a second string team, which comprises largely of older (some uncapped) Premiership veterans and young, unblooded talent, brings into question the decision of the timing of the tour: why would England want to hand South Africa such a huge psychological advantage ahead of their showdown in St Denis? What can they possibly hope to learn?
Already this tour is looking every bit as woeful as the 1998 “Tour of Hell” to Australia. The 76-0 defeat in Brisbane is a record defeat for the Red rose; second on the list is this latest result. That the Aussies went on the win the World Cup in 1999 and the South Africans have been going through a sticky patch themselves suggests that Saturday’s score line even flattered England; especially when one considers that the Boks - normally relentless punishers - came out from the interval laughing and joshing and did not manage to score in the first 30 minutes of the second half.
The previous weekend, while Wasps edged out Leicester in a bruising all-English European Cup final, the Northern Bulls beat the Coastal Sharks in an all-South African affair in the Super 14 final, thanks to a Bryan Habana injury-time try. Habana touched down twice against England. Whereas Wasps and Leicester’s Englishmen didn’t board the plane to Johannesburg, the South Africans were able to field their strongest team; 10 men who played in the Super 14 final started for the Boks.
Before kick-off Ashton told reporters he was looking for physicality and intelligence from his team: “We’re not looking for excuses. We have to match them upfront.” Up front 34-year-old Kevin Yates (last capped 10 years ago), 35-year-olds Mark Regan and Stephen Turner (who made his first start and was replaced by 34-year old debutant Darren Crompton after 53 minutes) did as well as could be expected, but it was only a matter of time before the Boks turned the screw.
Basic errors allowed the Boks in, but far from the intelligence that Ashton had hoped for, some of the England players showed a lack of basic competence, and in many ways looked like they didn‘t want to be there; who would blame them? Yes, they were playing together for the first time as a team, and yes, there is a mixture of talent throughout the squad, but there was a risible paucity of cohesion. Ian Balshaw’s speculative drop-goal attempt after only 12 minutes - which, from 40 metres out, sliced embarrassingly into South Africa’s 22 - hinted not only at a lack of English invention but also a desperation.
Against such strong opposition, blooding young players and handing caps to veterans in the dusk of their careers is not conducive to giving anyone but the South Africans a confidence boost. As the Boks prepare with purpose for the World Cup in France, England will be left decimated, needing a from-the-roots-up rebuilding job. Compared to Clive Woodward’s meticulous ripening of the last World Cup squad, where England entered the tournament as favourites after a Six Nations Grand Slam, and June international wins against New Zealand and Australia, Brian Ashton’s team look years away from the finished product.
The ludicrous schedule of tours to the southern hemisphere has been questioned by many, and the International Rugby Board has now admitted that the timing of these tours is far from ideal. Too late this time round - the IRB have decreed a repeat would not happen in future - but that is scant consolation for English rugby.
In the bigger picture this age of sporting professionalism, where the lines between sport and business are blurring further every day, there is pressure to commit to more games - both internationally and domestically - to sate the unquenchable thirst of sport’s audience; and it is harming many countries, not least England. And it’s not just in rugby union.
It is no consequence that in the last year England’s most popular three sports - football, rugby and cricket - there have been personnel changes at the very top. With such crammed domestic season, salt-and-peppered with ill-timed international commitments, how can English teams be expected to win? Sven-Goran Eriksson resigned as England’s football coach after the World Cup in Germany, complaining that his squad were over-tired after a gruelling domestic season - the same excuse used by Chelsea and Manchester United after their pitiful FA Cup final showing this term; a game which should have been a special occasion enhanced by sparkling football, but New Wembley’s first final was clamorous.
Similarly Duncan Fletcher stepped down at the conclusion of April’s long and tragic cricket World Cup, and again the excuse for failure was that his players had not been afforded enough of a break.
Though the doughty Brian Ashton will never look for excuses, he can be pardoned in part for England’s ill-preparation ahead of September’s World Cup. Just don’t be surprised when England stumble and fall, and Ashton resigns citing that his players were tired and the schedule of England’s international season has been woefully flawed.
As England prepare to defend their World Cup trophy, once again domestic and commercial commitments look to compromise international success.
A sub-standard and lethargic England team had the stuffing knocked out of them at altitude in the heartland of South African rugby - Bloemfontein - on Saturday. By half-time the score was 30-3 in the Springboks’ favour, and the game was effectively over; the final score - 58-10 - was a record win for the Boks against England. At the beginning of their international season, the win will be a fillip to South African confidence. The battered, weary England squad will trudge on to Pretoria this weekend for another mauling.
What is most worrying for Brian Ashton is that his team will play Jake White’s team in Pool A in the World Cup on 14th September - only three and a half months away. Ashton’s squad, robbed of many stars thanks to club commitments, a long winter programme, and weakened further by a 72-hour lurgy, had their preparations for this first Test seriously disrupted, and started - quite rightly - as underdogs.
In truth they were never expecting to win with such a rag-tag touring squad, coined “plumbers and decorators and part-time rugby players” by the South African press and “Dad’s army” by the English papers. That England can only field a second string team, which comprises largely of older (some uncapped) Premiership veterans and young, unblooded talent, brings into question the decision of the timing of the tour: why would England want to hand South Africa such a huge psychological advantage ahead of their showdown in St Denis? What can they possibly hope to learn?
Already this tour is looking every bit as woeful as the 1998 “Tour of Hell” to Australia. The 76-0 defeat in Brisbane is a record defeat for the Red rose; second on the list is this latest result. That the Aussies went on the win the World Cup in 1999 and the South Africans have been going through a sticky patch themselves suggests that Saturday’s score line even flattered England; especially when one considers that the Boks - normally relentless punishers - came out from the interval laughing and joshing and did not manage to score in the first 30 minutes of the second half.
The previous weekend, while Wasps edged out Leicester in a bruising all-English European Cup final, the Northern Bulls beat the Coastal Sharks in an all-South African affair in the Super 14 final, thanks to a Bryan Habana injury-time try. Habana touched down twice against England. Whereas Wasps and Leicester’s Englishmen didn’t board the plane to Johannesburg, the South Africans were able to field their strongest team; 10 men who played in the Super 14 final started for the Boks.
Before kick-off Ashton told reporters he was looking for physicality and intelligence from his team: “We’re not looking for excuses. We have to match them upfront.” Up front 34-year-old Kevin Yates (last capped 10 years ago), 35-year-olds Mark Regan and Stephen Turner (who made his first start and was replaced by 34-year old debutant Darren Crompton after 53 minutes) did as well as could be expected, but it was only a matter of time before the Boks turned the screw.
Basic errors allowed the Boks in, but far from the intelligence that Ashton had hoped for, some of the England players showed a lack of basic competence, and in many ways looked like they didn‘t want to be there; who would blame them? Yes, they were playing together for the first time as a team, and yes, there is a mixture of talent throughout the squad, but there was a risible paucity of cohesion. Ian Balshaw’s speculative drop-goal attempt after only 12 minutes - which, from 40 metres out, sliced embarrassingly into South Africa’s 22 - hinted not only at a lack of English invention but also a desperation.
Against such strong opposition, blooding young players and handing caps to veterans in the dusk of their careers is not conducive to giving anyone but the South Africans a confidence boost. As the Boks prepare with purpose for the World Cup in France, England will be left decimated, needing a from-the-roots-up rebuilding job. Compared to Clive Woodward’s meticulous ripening of the last World Cup squad, where England entered the tournament as favourites after a Six Nations Grand Slam, and June international wins against New Zealand and Australia, Brian Ashton’s team look years away from the finished product.
The ludicrous schedule of tours to the southern hemisphere has been questioned by many, and the International Rugby Board has now admitted that the timing of these tours is far from ideal. Too late this time round - the IRB have decreed a repeat would not happen in future - but that is scant consolation for English rugby.
In the bigger picture this age of sporting professionalism, where the lines between sport and business are blurring further every day, there is pressure to commit to more games - both internationally and domestically - to sate the unquenchable thirst of sport’s audience; and it is harming many countries, not least England. And it’s not just in rugby union.
It is no consequence that in the last year England’s most popular three sports - football, rugby and cricket - there have been personnel changes at the very top. With such crammed domestic season, salt-and-peppered with ill-timed international commitments, how can English teams be expected to win? Sven-Goran Eriksson resigned as England’s football coach after the World Cup in Germany, complaining that his squad were over-tired after a gruelling domestic season - the same excuse used by Chelsea and Manchester United after their pitiful FA Cup final showing this term; a game which should have been a special occasion enhanced by sparkling football, but New Wembley’s first final was clamorous.Similarly Duncan Fletcher stepped down at the conclusion of April’s long and tragic cricket World Cup, and again the excuse for failure was that his players had not been afforded enough of a break.
Though the doughty Brian Ashton will never look for excuses, he can be pardoned in part for England’s ill-preparation ahead of September’s World Cup. Just don’t be surprised when England stumble and fall, and Ashton resigns citing that his players were tired and the schedule of England’s international season has been woefully flawed.
Labels: Brian Ashton, England, media, rugby, Rugby World Cup, South Africa, sports media
