RFU's Six Nations debrief reads like a list of excuses - Andy Goode
The RFU’s Six Nations debrief has backed Eddie Jones to the hilt but it seems to have absolved him of responsibility as well and reads like a list of excuses.
Clearly, there is a lot of implied criticism in there because he is the man ultimately responsible for everything to do with England’s performance but none of it is direct and it looks like an attempt to dampen flames.
Jones was never going to get sacked because he’s got credit in the bank, and you can add the current financial climate and a lack of other options to that as other more minor reasons as well, but he should have received more robust criticism than this review hands out.
It’s almost like they’re responding to England’s worst Six Nations performance ever with “the dog ate my homework” rather than anyone taking responsibility. This isn’t a blame game but there should be accountability.
In fact, they even try to dress up how bad the campaign really was by describing it as “sub-optimal”. England, with all of their resources and ability, finished fifth with only Italy below them. Sub-optimal is not the word most England fans would use.
Issues such as coaching, player preparation and availability, breakdown indiscipline, squad transition and alignment between England and the Premiership clubs are all raised and Jones is responsible for all of that, yet he is spared any direct criticism.
The debrief states that “several players did not have enough game time going into the Six Nations”, something that was widely mentioned prior to the tournament, so picking them was a mistake.
However, it also claims that “a wider group were fatigued as a result of being the only country to have back-to-back seasons” and I think that’s starting to feel like a bit of a stretch and almost like a cover up.
We know there were high-profile question marks over France’s Covid protocols but to say that England’s were “greater than other Unions” and use that as a partial explanation for the poor performance is clutching at straws.
England used just 29 players in the Six Nations, the same number as they did in the autumn, and five of those in George Martin, Beno Obano, Joe Marchant, Harry Williams and Jack Willis combined for a total of just 79 minutes.
However, Paolo Odogwu and Harry Randall, who were two of the form players in the Premiership, saw no game time at all and that was Jones’ decision. Plus, Kyle Sinckler was allowed to come into the squad after the start of the tournament following his ban so we know there was some flexibility in terms of calling players up.
There were issues with England’s coaching team as outlined in the review but then Eddie Jones chose Ed Robinson to come in as a replacement, and Simon Amor as his attack coach for that matter. This is not meant as a slight on them but they aren’t coaches who are going to challenge the head coach or who have much experience at all in the 15-a-side game.
Then there’s the breakdown indiscipline that’s mentioned, an area which was plain for all to see during the tournament and again one that Jones is responsible for.
"He has to take them because their ceiling is so high if they play well"
– Sam Warburton on the credit in the bank that a trio of Saracens players have ahead of Lions tour selection despite poor England form
https://t.co/UpnEJAZuxA— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) April 22, 2021
The cherry on the cake in this debrief, though, is the assertion that the RFU will try to “deepen its alignment between England Rugby performance and professional clubs” when Jones has blatantly disregarded Premiership form and spoken openly about doing so.
He does regularly attend league games in person but then his relationship with some clubs and their directors of rugby is non-existent. If that were to change as a result of all this and players were to be picked on form, then it’d be a major positive.
We’re told that all future debriefs will be informed by “external rugby experts” and I’m not sure anyone knows what that means in reality but it’s clear that there needs to be someone with serious rugby IQ who is able to hold the head coach to account to a certain extent when it comes to the environment and processes.
I’ve seen it before at club level where a head coach reports directly to an owner or CEO, who can’t really question anything with any authority, and I think that’s one of the major issues with England.
You have to hope that, while this reads like a box-ticking exercise with some strange language used to explain away England’s poor performance, privately Bill Sweeney and co have made certain things abundantly clear.
Only time will tell whether that is the case really and it’ll be a while before we can judge properly because I don’t think the summer or autumn will give us a great indication.
It feels, though, like the RFU thought they needed to be seen to be doing something because reviews like this one happen all the time and remain behind closed doors. Sometimes you’re better off just not saying anything because this has created a lot more questions than answers.
“I know that O’Gara has talked about KBA and we have a similar thing with LQB"
What an attack coach without acronyms? @nick10evans talks to @chrisjonespress ??? about how @Harlequins are trying to play the game https://t.co/fPOiLpSZGM
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) April 22, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
Good to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
16 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
7 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
16 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
4 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
4 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
26 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
16 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
26 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
16 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
84 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
4 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
16 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
14 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
16 Go to comments