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RFU's Six Nations debrief reads like a list of excuses - Andy Goode

England head coach Eddie Jones. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)

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.

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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.

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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.

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England were comfortably beaten by Ireland in Dublin. (Getty)
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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.

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Odogwu England
(Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

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.

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.

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Eddie Jones watching Ealing take on Saracens /Getty Images

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.

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Oh no, not him again? 2 hours ago
England internationals disagree on final play execution vs All Blacks

Okay, so we blew it big time on Saturday. So rather than repeating what most people have all ready said, what do I want to see from Borthwick going forward?


Let's keep Marcus Smith on the pitch if he's fit and playing well. I was really pleased with his goal kicking. It used to be his weakness. I feel sympathy for George Ford who hadn't kicked all match and then had a kick to win the game. You hear pundits and commentators commend kickers who have come off the bench and pulled that off. Its not easy. If Steve B continues to substitute players with no clear reason then he is going to get criticised.


On paper I thought England would beat NZ if they played to their potential and didn't show NZ too much respect. Okay, the off the ball tackles certainly stopped England scoring tries, but I would have liked to see more smashing over gainlines and less kicking for position. Yes, I also know it's the Springbok endorsed world cup double winning formula but the Kiwi defence isn't the Bok defence, is it. If you have the power to put Smith on the front foot then why muzzle him? I guess what I'm saying is back, yourself. Why give the momentum to a team like NZ? Why feed the beast? Don't give the ball to NZ. Well d'uh.


Our scrum is a long term weakness. If you are going to play Itoje then he needs an ogre next door and a decent front row. Where is our third world class lock? Where are are realible front row bench replacements? The England scrum has been flakey for a while now. It blows hot and cold. Our front five bench is not world class.


On the positive side I love our starting backrow right now. I'd like to see them stick together through to the next world cup.


Anyway, there is always another Saturday.

7 Go to comments
C
CO 2 hours ago
Scott Robertson responds to criticism over All Blacks' handling errors

Robertson is more a manager of coaches than a coach so it comes down to intent of outcomes at a high level. I like his intent, I like the fact his Allblacks are really driving the outcomes however as he's pointed out the high error rates are not test level and their control of the game is driving both wins and losses. England didn't have to play a lot of rugby, they made far fewer mistakes and were extremely unlucky not to win.


In fact the English team were very early in their season and should've been comfortably beaten by an Allblacks team that had played multiple tests together.


Razor has himself recognised that to be the best they'll have to sort out the crisis levels of mistakes that have really increased since the first two tests against England.


Early tackles were a classic example of hyper enthusiasm to not give an inch, that passion that Razor has achieved is going to be formidable once the unforced errors are eliminated.


That's his secret, he's already rebuilt the passion and that's the most important aspect, its inevitable that he'll now eradicate the unforced errors. When that happens a fellow tier one nation is going to get thrashed. I don't think it will be until 2025 though.


The Allblacks will lose both tests against Ireland and France if they play high error rates rugby like they did against England.


To get the unforced errors under control he's going to be needing to handover the number eight role to Sititi and reset expectations of what loose forwards do. Establish a clear distinction with a large, swarthy lineout jumper at six that is a feared runner and dominant tackler and a turnover specialist at seven that is abrasive in contact. He'll then need to build depth behind the three starters and ruthlessly select for that group to be peaking in 2027 in hit Australian conditions on firm, dry grounds.


It's going to help him that Savea is shifting to the worst super rugby franchise where he's going to struggle behind a beaten pack every week.


The under performing loose forward trio is the key driver of the high error rates and unacceptable turn overs due to awol link work. Sititi is looking like he's superman compared to his openside and eight.


At this late stage in the season they shouldn't be operating with just the one outstanding loose forward out of four selected for the English test. That's an abject failure but I think Robertson's sacrificing link quality on purpose to build passion amongst the junior Allblacks as they see the reverential treatment the old warhorses are receiving for their long term hard graft.


It's unfortunately losing test matches and making what should be comfortable wins into nail biters but it's early in the world cup cycle so perhaps it's a sacrifice worth making.


However if this was F1 then Sam Cane would be Riccardo and Ardie would be heading into Perez territory so the loose forwards desperately need revitalisation through a rebuild over the next season to complement the formidable tight five.

28 Go to comments
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