RFU statement dishonest and insulting to England fans - Andy Goode
Last year’s Six Nations debrief may have looked like it was written by England boss Eddie Jones but the latest RFU statement goes one step further – it’s dishonest and insulting to fans. It’s an absolute PR disaster and if the union in charge of the sport in England really thinks supporters are going to take them at their word and simply believe “solid progress” has been made, then they are more out of touch than anyone thought.
Whether this latest statement has come from the very top or has been written by someone in the communications and marketing department isn’t clear, but whoever thought it would be well-received really needs to be shown the door.
It’s clutching at straws but the only two steps forward I can find are that the average age of the squad has come down and players are being picked with more of an eye on Premiership form. That doesn’t constitute progress in anyone’s book, though.
Last year’s Six Nations performance was the worst ever by England and the RFU described it as “sub-optimal”. While they were spared the ignominy of finishing fifth this year, third place England finished on the same points total as last year and scored four fewer tries so this was arguably worse.
The mind boggles at how Jones can suggest his team are just “three per cent off” where they need to be to become successful and I’d love to know the metrics he is looking at when he is making that assessment.
The key part of the statement – and the honest bit – is that “the RFU continues to fully support Eddie” and that is all they had to say, preferably accompanied by an acknowledgement that this Six Nations campaign by England was unacceptable. It doesn’t matter whether individual external observers think Jones should no longer be England’s head coach. It’s the RFU’s prerogative to back him to the hilt and support him through to the next World Cup, but they should not be trying to pull the wool over people’s eyes.
It’s also very clever of Jones to always reference the World Cup and ask to be judged on that because that gives him a four-year plan and more time in a head coaching job that is reportedly the highest-paid in international rugby.
He has been consistent in that narrative ever since he was appointed and, to be fair to him, he did reach a World Cup final at the last time of asking. After that tournament, though, he was also supposed to be helping to find his successor but that seems to have been pushed down the road.
The RFU’s statement also mentions a “clear strategy” that Jones is working with. I don’t necessarily think it’s incumbent on them to tell us exactly what that is but they have to understand that it doesn’t look like there is one from the outside.
The long and short of all this is that another debrief is incoming but it is who is responsible for that and what the intended outcome is that is important. Not too much has changed since the last one and those conducting it are a bit like the Illuminati.
The RFU advisory panel, to give them their proper name, are a group of board and executive members, former players and coaches and Jones – but the head coach is the only one named. Indeed, one of the issues with this initial statement is that it comes from an RFU spokesperson. Clearly, we have to assume it has been signed off by chief executive Bill Sweeney but nobody is putting their name to it and that is indicative of a general lack of accountability.
If you look at the RFU’s board and executive members, the likes of Sue Day, Jonathan Webb and Phil de Glanville are all on there as former internationals but are there other former players and coaches involved in this review process?
We should know because Conor O’Shea is the only visible name who has been involved in the modern game at a high level. They need someone like a Lawrence Dallaglio in there who is working in the game, has the gravitas and isn’t afraid to give a forthright opinion. The RFU published a few “systemic challenges” and several recommendations on April 20 after last year’s debrief, so presumably we can look forward to something similar in the coming month or so.
When that does come out, there is one thing that needs to be at the forefront of the RFU’s minds and that is honesty. Don’t try to deceive the fans, who you want to continue to buy tickets and shirts, and look no further than the current Grand Slam champions for a shining example.
There was a huge disconnect between the national team and supporters and the club game in France a few years ago but a huge, conscious effort was made to address that. Clearly, having a winning team helps but the likes of Fabien Galthie, Raphael Ibanez and Bernard Laporte, as well as the players and others behind the scenes, have all worked in a collaborative way before this current success to build that connection.
Make no bones about it, a combination of Six Nations results on the field, Jones’ rhetoric off it, the RFU’s messaging and a few other factors are leaving a lot of England fans feeling disconnected from the national team and honesty is the first step in rectifying that.
Comments on RugbyPass
It’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
2 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
28 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
1 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
1 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
2 Go to commentsLions might take him on if they move on Van Rooyen but I doubt he will want to go back, might consider it a step backwards for himself. Sharks would take him on but if Plumtree goes on to win the challenge cup they will keep him on. Also sharks showing some promising signs recently. Stormers and Bulls are stable and Springboks are already filled up. Quality coach though, interesting to see where he ends up
1 Go to commentsAnd the person responsible for creating a culture of accountability is?
3 Go to commentsMore useless words from Ben Smith -Please get another team to write about. SA really dont need your input, it suck anyway.
264 Go to commentsThis disgraceful episode must result in management and coach team sackings. A new manager with worse results than previous and the coaching staff need to coached. Awful massacre led by donkeys.
1 Go to commentsInteresting article with one glaring mistake. This sentence: “And between the top four nations right now, Ireland, France, South Africa, and New Zealand…” should read: And between the top four nations right now, South Africa, Ireland, New Zealand and France…”. Get it right wistful thinkers, its not that hard.
24 Go to commentsHow did Penny get the gig anyway?
3 Go to commentsNice write up Nick and I would have agreed a week ago. However as you would know Cale & co got absolutely monstered by the Blues back row of Sotutu, Ioane and Papaliti and not all of these 3 are guaranteed a start in the Black jumper. He may need to put some kgs before stepping up, Spring tour? After the week end Joe will be a bit more restless. Will need to pick a mobile tough pack for Wales and hope England does the right thing and bashes the ABs. I like your last paragraph but I would bring Swinton, Hannigan into the 6 role and Bobby V to 8
28 Go to commentsThe Crusaders can still get in to the Play Off’s. The imminent return of outstanding captain Scott Barrett and his All Black team mate Codie Taylor will be a big boost.There are others like Tamaiti Williams too. Two home games coming up. Fellow Crusader fans get there and support these guys. I will be.
2 Go to commentsCant get more Wellington than Proctor.
2 Go to commentsWhy not let the media decide. Like how they choose the head coach. Like most of us we entrust the rugby system to choose. A rugby team includes the coaches. It's collective.
14 Go to commentsHi NIck, I have been very impressed with him and he seems a smart player who can see opportunities which Bobby V _(who must be an international 6_) doesn’t see or have the speed to take advantage of. If he continues to improve and puts on 5kgs then he could be a great 8. He is a bit taller than Keiran Reid at 1.93m and 111 kgs, so his skill set fits his body size and who knows where it will lead. I hope the spate of Achilles tendon issues have been dealt with by the S&C people. It’s been a very long time since Mark Loane and Kefu stood out at 8. The question is will we be able to hold onto him, if he does make it he will be pretty hot property. I disagree with the idea of letting them go to the Northern Hemisphere and then bring them back.
28 Go to commentsBilly Fulton 🤣🤣🤣🤣 garrrmon not even close
14 Go to commentsDoes the AI take into account refs? hahaha Seriously why not have two on field refs to avoid bias?
24 Go to comments