England Rugby - Lightning Struck Twice

Last night, in front of our very eyes, a nightmare unfolded as Australia pushed England aside with ruthless precision and condemned the hosts to being surplus to requirements in their own tournament. 

Disappointment, despair & raw hurt were the emotions etched across the faces of Chris Robshaw and Stuart Lancaster as they addressed the press following the final whistle. Stuart's opening comments summarised, succinctly, their feelings;

“We are obviously absolutely gutted to be going out of the World Cup, even more so our own World Cup. Words can’t express how disappointed we are and we have had some fantastic supporters and we feel that we have let them down.”

Their pain won’t subside quickly and the scars of this test match battle will remain for a long time with the prospect that it might cost one or both their roles within this England set up. When it came down to it, Australia more than deserved to win the test match in question. The Wallabies were more clinical in attack, when they manoeuvred themselves into the right areas of the field they profited on the boar.  In contrast, England let too many opportunities slip due to errors or turnovers. 

Ironically the ill discipline that savaged England last weekend, and has done so in previous fixtures, was not present and instead it was the potency of David Pocock that inflicted the killer blows. There is no question that Pocock is the best in the world right now, the Wallaby would walk into any side and for however long Australia remain in this competition he will continue to  single handedly rip teams apart.

In the build up to this fixture, and indeed the Rugby World Cup, Bernard Foley’s goal kicking has been questioned however when it mattered he delivered world-class statistics off the tee and added two tries to seal the deal. The fact is that Australia played the test match safe in the knowledge that their Rugby World Cup wasn’t on the line and it showed in their demeanour and output. In contrast the weight of the world laid heavily on England’s shoulders, particularly in the opening half when it stifled them.

The introduction of George Ford to the game delivered a new dimension and one that, in my opinion, had been missing during the opening half. Ford did exactly what he does best and took it right to Australia, making the right attacking decisions and he allowed others to find space. The question lingers as to what could have been created if Jonathan Joseph was able to stay in the centres with him because their understanding is outstanding, however we will never know. 

(C) Paler Images

Of course now there will be many calls for wholesale management changes and names will start to be listed and ranked according to their likelihood of becoming part of the ‘new’ England. In the immediate aftermath of such a defeat opinions will differ as to what should happen now and I expect the lions share to call for Lancaster’s head.  In black and white the results do not favour his continuation with no silverware to his name and an early group exit from the largest competition ever.  However I will reiterate a question I posed the other day, do you truly believe that England would immediately be leagues further ahead if drastic changes are made? It is a discussion that will continue loudly throughout this week and one that I will hold off addressing until after the Uruguay match. 

Painfully as the group stages lead into the knockouts the home Rugby World Cup will go on, without England in it. It is a situation that many of us never dared to contemplate but it is now a reality. I truly believe in the words that I wrote during the week regarding England's ability and potential to win last night's test match however ultimately was proved wrong. 

The loss, the exit from the competition and the label as the 'worst hosts in history' hurts.  However the pain that any week outside of the camp, no matter how passionately or ardently you follow or support will be nothing in comparison to the men waking up at Pennyhill Park this morning. I expect that the word excruciating, doesn't even begin to come close... and what is even more agonising is that they still have test match to play in next weekend, a 'nothing' match. For England Rugby this is not how Rugby World Cup 2015 was supposed to end however that is sport and it doesn't always follow the script that we wish it would.