I was expecting a lot more of the England side against Argentina yesterday.
Must take my hat off to the Argentinians though, they deserved the game.
What is wrong in England rugby at the moment?
Watching the Heineken stuff they certainly have the talent and depth of players that could do the job.
The England team that won the world cup were largely ageing at the time. IMHO Clive Woodward built the team for the world cup, knew he was leaving, and did nothing to develop anything apart from that.
The other weakness in yesterdays team was that they did not have enough South Africans playing for them
mcamp999 Wrote:The England team that won the world cup were largely ageing at the time. IMHO Clive Woodward built the team for the world cup, knew he was leaving, and did nothing to develop anything apart from that.
The other weakness in yesterdays team was that they did not have enough South Africans playing for them
:haha: :thx: I needed a giggle,
Agree with the ageing comment, I have seen so much talent in the UK rugby, and teams like Gloucester blooding the youngsters ( in the Aussie style) can only be good for the futureof England rugby.
Hard times ahead for the England coach and management right now though I think
Nothing that has not happened to all the teams before......SA at the moment are not looking good either and looked awful against Ireland. NZ went through the same when Fitzpatric and a few others called it quits, Australia is not really showing the performances we require either.
I do not think that it is the coaches problem, all the training required is done at club level, it is merely the selection of the right combination, however I think the demands are far greater on the players now than it used to be. Internationals EVERY year along with extended domestic seasons. Look at the increase in games, soper12 became super 14, 5 nations became 6 nations, add that to the other various tours and fixtures, I think that the players are possibly playing too much rugby right now. Another point I have is the commitment to the game.....it has become so professional, getting hurt now costs you money and one has to way that up on the field as well.....I do not think the commitment that existed at an amateur level exists today.
spam Wrote:Nothing that has not happened to all the teams before
it is merely the selection of the right combination,
demands are far greater on the players now than it used to be.
.....I do not think the commitment that existed at an amateur level exists today.
I agree , it has happened to other teams before and will carry on in the future too.
selection of the right combination
This is the crux of the matter, this iMHO is where the make or break seems to be.
I agree about the demands, I think the players bodies can only put up with so much abuse ( despite the super fitness levels today), and then also the mental side of things too. How to keep players motivated.
Your point about the commitment reminds me of a recent discussion about amateur Vs Professional. We concluded that the amateur era seemed more intense.
One has to look at the last Amateur Brisitsh Lions teams as an example. I refer to the JJ Williams, Gareth Edwards, JPR Williams, Fran Cotton etc in the UK teams.