Mako mess is just embarrassing

MAKO VUNIPOLA’S unavailability for the rest of the Six Nations leaves me shaking my head at what goes on in the England camp sometimes. And I want to make a distinction between the RFU, where lots of people do their jobs brilliantly with little acknowledgement, and the England set-up, where I am baffled about the chain of command. Is there one? Most importantly, why did England try to pass this off initially as a medical issue with no further information, having told us earlier in the week that Mako was safely coming back from Tonga where he had travelled for personal reasons? The media will always find out one way or another, so just put your hands up from the start and admit a mistake. You may look and feel a bit daft for a day, but everybody moves on. Under no circumstances try to hoodwink the media — there is only one winner in situations like this! Then there are the logistics of how Mako was allowed to come back via Hong Kong, given the need for self-isolation for anybody returning from that part of the world. Who, if anybody, from the England set-up was in touch with Mako during his trip back home to Tonga? I assume somebody was keeping him in the loop on developments and discovering whether he would be available for the Wales match. Given that he rushed out there over a personal issue, surely somebody within the England set-up should have sorted out the logistics for him and, as soon as the coronavirus situation escalated, come up with a route back via Auckland and the USA or perhaps even South America?

In pure playing terms, this isn’t a massive setback. What with injuries as well, England have not seen a huge amount of Mako recently and in Ellis Genge and Joe Marler they have two great replacements. As I have argued elsewhere, this might be the time for Genge to assume a starting role above a fit and healthy Mako. But none of this sends out a great message regarding England being on top of things. Think back to the World Cup final when they arrived 35 minutes late and Owen Farrell had to rush out for the coin toss not really knowing which end was which when asked what he wanted to do. Those are just a couple of the more obvious examples of how the detail and distractions played a major role in England’s non-performance. Attention to detail is everything in sport at this level. To be world-class on the field of play you have to be world-class off the field of play. Frankly, this is just embarrassing.