English rugby (the team, management and fans alike) would have breathed a collective sigh of relief, tinged with a little satisfaction no doubt, after yesterday’s 26-17 victory over Australia. A win in England’s last game of the year that eases pressure on Stuart Lancaster as the first serious questions of his position as England’s head coach were being asked after five consecutive test defeats at the hands of New Zealand and South Africa. A win serving a welcome reminder that England are able to put Southern Hemisphere opposition under St George’s broadsword, even if the Wallabies are the weakest of the bunch.
In the cold light of day, criticism after those five straight losses has been short-sighted as England could and possibly should have won more than one of those contests, comfortably competitive in each (as they have been throughout Lancaster’s reign) and that in spite of consistently missing a host of front line players through injury (another issue altogether). Lancaster’s record of W3 D1 L10 against rugby union’s traditional ‘Big Three’ is hardly a disgrace (a certain Warren G would kill for that record) and the national team is clearly in a more unified and healthier position under his guidance than it ever was under Martin Johnson’s tenure.
But notwithstanding the aforementioned injuries and the team’s marked improvement over the past three years, the time has come for Lancaster to stop hiding behind the mantra of calling this a ‘team of youngsters and pups’ and for him to start settling on players and consistent style of play. England’s increase in player depth has given him a greater quality of options than his recent predecessors but has also seen many misguided experiments (Courtney Lawes at blind-side flanker, Tom Wood at No.8 and Manu Tuilagi on the wing are a few examples with the consequence being that in many positions Lancaster is still no closer to learning which players and combinations can provide a winning formula. Inconsistent and muddled team selection has started to creep in; poor decision making and game awareness continues to rankle; and the age-old reliance on England’s three pillars of Scrum, Lineout and Maul when under pressure has seen the team’s progress stall and even regress since this year’s Six Nations.
But in a home World Cup year, whatever XV takes to the field in games in 2015, the performances need to indicate that Lancaster is leading them in the right direction.
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