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Bewildered Ellis Genge hits back at ‘out of touch’ England critics
By PA
Ellis Genge has hit back at England’s “out of touch” critics, claiming the negative response to a nail-biting Calcutta Cup victory “blew my mind”. Steve Borthwick’s side have won their last two Guinness Six Nations matches by the skin of their teeth at the Allianz Stadium, squeezing past France 26-25 before edging Scotland 16-15.
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They conceded three tries and scored just one at the weekend, drawing audible boos from the crowd and some tough words from the pundits. Vice-captain Genge has been left bewildered by the reaction, suggesting his side were not getting their due from the stands or on the airwaves.
“It’s like you are damned if you do, damned if you don’t. In the last 18 months, every time we have lost by a point, we have been slandered, and on the weekend we win by a point and it’s the same old story,” said the Bristol prop.
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“It is difficult as a player to digest the fact that people were disappointed that we just won the Calcutta Cup back after five years. We won the game and people are still upset about it. It blew my mind to be honest. There is a feeling there, let’s not be naive. You can feel it that people were booing when we were playing. I love the fans, they are brilliant, I go round clapping them after every game.
“But post-game the ex-players, recently retired and long retired, and people from years and years ago… I just can’t believe how out of touch they are. The spiel that I am reading from people saying how off it we are. We won two games on the bounce and you are upset about it, I don’t get it.
“It feels like we can’t win to be honest. That is how I feel. We lost to Australia in the autumn (a 42-37 defeat last November) and everyone was like, ‘Brilliant, brilliant, look how they move the ball’. But we lost, so who gives a ****? Do you want to be part of a team that wins every single game by one point? Or would you rather be part of a team that loses every single week, 40 points to 39? I know what type of team I want to be.”
Genge’s passionate take came during the squad’s training camp in York, with around 7,000 fans awaiting them at an open training session at the LNER Community Stadium on Friday. While a strong turnout from the northern contingent of the fanbase could help build some bridges, things will be put to the test again next weekend when England host Italy for their penultimate game of the tournament.
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France’s 73-24 win in Rome has set a difficult bar and raised expectations for that match, but Genge has warned not to expect the floodgates to open as a formality. “They beat Wales in Wales, they took a few scalps, so I don’t think they are a team that people think is a guaranteed win anymore,” he said.
“From the outside it might be but we are definitely not preparing like that. For whatever reason, we can get a bit tense with the stakes of the game, and it probably prevents us from being as expansive as we want. Being able to box clever and being able to fight on the inside and the out, that is a strength of ours; being able to adapt.
“Sometimes the game is ugly and in the last three games we haven’t thrown the ball about and done what the fans want to see every week, but that is Test rugby.”
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They obviously have a little Borthwicky echo chamber in that bubble if this criticism has come as such a surprise. Scraping past Scotland at home having been outscored three tries to one (zero) because Russell missed all his kicks is not a cause for celebration… nor is edging past France after they dropped the ball over the line 4 times. Borthwick is obviously telling the players they're killing it “Guys those box kicks were on point, keep expressing yourself by chasing those kicks Marcus!”
England outscored Scotland. Tries are worth 5 points, but conversions are worth 2, and penalties (and drop goals) are worth 3. So it is very possible to win a match while scoring fewer tries than your opposition.
In the 2023 world cup, NZ scored more tries (1) in the final than SA did (0). In the 2003 world cup England scored fewer tries (1) than wales (3) in the quarter final; fewer tries (0) than france (1) in the semi final; and the same number of tries (1) as australia (1) in the final.
Interesting way to deal with criticism. Criticise back.
The bottom line is people aren’t going to drop their standards because of how you perform, Ellis. What the critics are telling you is that they think you can do much better.
You should be grateful that, after three years of scraping by with 50 odd percentage seasons, some of your fans care enough to complain.
Had you lost the Calcutta cup again, even just by one point, which you should have (by the way) had Finn converted his kicks, you’d be really damned.
Love the feedback. Respond with interest.
Surely he’s used to it by now?
You’d think so.
That’s right. People were pissed because the performance was pretty shite. A quick round up of this weeks Rugby podcasts will confirm as much.
Eli’s has been in the international game long enough to know how things work; England fans have very high expectations, perhaps too high, so this really shouldn’t come as a surprise.
He should also keep in mind most have been critical of the tactics employed rather than the players themselves.