Comment by Mike Greenaway
A writer for the Daily Telegraph sarcastically summed up the growing discontent in English rugby with the words, “If there is truth in the maxim that you learn more from defeat than a victory, England ought to be master of the universe by now.”
The Red Rose army is indeed in retreat.
They have lost four games in a row and six of their last eight, with the victories being over struggling Wales and Japan.
Frustrated fans are being taken back to the horror run their team endured in 2022/23, before Eddie Jones’ tenure was terminated.
Steve Borthwick, Jones’ successor, had a difficult start, but came good in the last World Cup, probably because his team were on the golden highway to the playoffs in the half of the draw that had none of the top sides.
England had built good momentum by the time they played an exhausted South Africa in the semi-finals.
The Boks had scaled a rugby Everest the week before in toppling France in an epic Paris quarter-final that drained them as mentally as it did physically.
To expect the Boks to reach the same heights two weeks in a row was impossible, and it was only sheer bloodymindedness that got them over the line when England seemed to have it sewn up at 15-6.
Still, Borthwick and his team were hailed as unlucky heroes, and their supporters were confident that 2024 would see their side soar upward.
But in terms of results, it has been the opposite.
The optimists in England point out the fact that the majority of the defeats have been by a few slender points and the team have been unlucky.
The realists are saying that a long history of narrow losses means you can’t blame fortune and you have to look at leadership, coaching and tactics.
England‘s problem with closing games must come down to what they are instructed to do by Borthwick, and how this should be carried out on the field in the last quarter by captain Jamie George.
To highlight this failure, let’s look at England’s opponents on Saturday.
The Springboks are masters at squeezing out victories against the top teams. It is no coincidence that they were on the right side of the three one-pointers at the last World Cup.
They more often than not win the close games, because they are better coached and led.
The other aspect of the England game that is being hotly discussed in the British media is the rich quality of performance when the team are well behind.
There have been some fantastic passages of play and memorable tries from England when they are forced to chase the game.
However, in matches where they are ahead, they close up shop, which gives the opposition the gap to make a comeback and win at the death.
The inconsistency in how England tactically approach the game over 80 minutes points to the coach, but Borthwick, a former England lock, this week has been publicly supported by the Rugby Football Union.
In English football, a statement of support for the manager by the owners usually is the kiss of death, but in rugby, it is a little different.
But a defeat to the Springboks on Saturday could mean the end of Borthwick.