Have sympathy for England RU coach, Stuart Lancaster, a hardworking, honest, and innovative leader. One only needs to take a glance at a small selection of the abuse which, following England’s early exit from the World Cup, has been hurled his way – “radical change at the top is needed if England are to become powerhouses of the game again……the issues raised are wide-ranging and cover contentious areas such as selection, the quality of coaching, a controlling management environment and the belief that a heavyweight, experienced head coach with a proven track record must now be appointed.”   What rot!

The key to the problem for England, and also for France who appear to be going down the same coaching pathway, lies in that word “heavyweight”. Stuart Lancaster’s player selection in a pack is limited to what is being churned out by the clubs where there is an obsession with size, height, and strength, and where virtually the whole focal point of a match are the scrums, the line outs, and the eternal rolling maul. All very important unit skills and helpful to any success. But, in the British Isles, we have made such unit skills and the creation of massive 18/19/20 stone lumbering forwards the “be all and end all” of any match. Little wonder we cannot cope with teams who encourage and select forwards who can handle a ball, know what to do when the ball lands in their hands, have  a running rugby ‘nous’, and can actually run and link in open play.

The game in this country is sadly obsessed with scrummaging and to only a slightly lesser extent with the lineout where giants rule the roost and move ponderously from one to the other. At the highest of rugby levels matches are won by runners and handlers, and especially in the forwards where the ability to link up in the centre of the field in an attacking movement without embarrassment, the ability to pass a ball at the right time with a flick of the fingers, the knowledge of when to throw ‘a dummy’, or the confidence to trust in your own pace leads to a try.

When Argentina once relied completely on the power and strength of their pack and were believed to select the first seven through the turnstiles for their backs they struggled to cope at international level. Not so in this World Cup where they have revealed a fine attacking back division supported by running and ball playing forwards. New Zealand are not the biggest of packs yet they are fit and physical and, above all, can give and receive a pass with ease while running in even limited space. I well recall from my own playing days English ball handling forwards of the calibre of Alan Ashcroft, Reg Higgins, ’Budge’ Rogers, Derek Morgan and company and the French back row trio of Moncla, Crauste, and Celaya. They were big lads but not according to the requirements to be a forward today.

If England wish to move forward in world rugby they should not be looking at the sacking of coaches but at the mindset abroad in the 15 a side code which has been put so succinctly by one very observant pundit and which has contributed immensely to England’s downfall.

“If the top European nations are serious about challenging their rivals down under, they need to focus on athleticism and a set of basic individual skills. Rugby Union may well be one of the great team games where unit skills and organisation are prized but, increasingly at this World Cup, it is how you perform away from those areas that dictates outcomes.”   

Ray French   October 2015