WHY USE CARLING TO TACKLE AN ISSUE THAT DOESN’T EXIST?
WILL CARLINg did a superb job as England captain in the ’90s when his sides won three grand Slams and reached a World Cup final. He has rightly taken his place as a key player in England rugby’s history books and would have been delighted and honoured to be asked by Eddie Jones to mentor some of the senior players this season on captaincy and leadership. However, I am not really convinced by Eddie’s reason for the appointment. To me, it seems to be just another distraction at a time when the team need to get back to the basics and fundamentals of Test rugby. First, I do not think there is a leadership issue with England. It is highlighting a problem that does not really exist. Dylan Hartley has an 87 per cent win rate in 27 starts as England captain — and Eddie can also call on other experienced operators and leaders — you do not win that many Test matches and have a problem with leadership. If you want to improve the leadership of this team then leave Hartley on for the full game and stop taking him off in the critical last 30 minutes. Second, and possibly even more important, identifying, picking and mentoring your captain and leaders is always a key component of the head coach’s job. The buck stops with the coach on this one. I would not want anybody, even an illustrious former captain like Will, coming between me and my working relationship with my leaders. That bond and link between coach and senior players is fundamental and comes, in part, from the kind of conversations and interaction I assume Will has been tasked with having with England’s senior player group. One of the reasons quoted for the appointment is that New Zealand have adopted a similar strategy. The Kiwis are great — always have been and always will be — but I spent so much time and energy getting the so-called superiority of the Southern Hemisphere teams out of England players’ heads. We must get out of the mindset that says we must slavishly replicate everything they do.