Rudderless England in reverse
IT SOUNDED like a bad country and western song. ‘‘You need to keep looking in the mirror before you look out the window,’’ prop Tom Wood said.
Alas, after losing to the Springboks on Sunday, the mirror is cracked and the window is steamed up by hot air.
England wanted to lay down a marker this northern autumn.
Instead, they have made the great leap backwards.
Two games ago there was a belief that England were building nicely towards the 2015 World Cup. Now their weaknesses have been clinically exposed – suggesting fans have been guilty of inflated expectations.
‘‘Nobody is on suicide watch,’’ Wood said, but the alarming fact is that under Stuart Lancaster, England have won two out of 13 games against New Zealand, South Africa and Australia.
They completed the triple crown against Wales in March but have not won a Six Nations title. They have won four of their past 11 matches and are on course for their worst win-loss record since 2008, when they were routinely hammered by the southern hemisphere nations.
To suggest this is a precursor to a World Cup win smacks of the delusional mania that is the traditional metier of England’s football team.
South Africa rugby captain Jean de Villiers is good at cutting through such hype and articulating simple truths.
‘‘It’s quality of possession rather than percentage of possession that counts,’’ he said.
‘‘It came down to what we did with the ball in hand.’’
England looked rudderless with ball in hand on Sunday, Wood even referring to ‘‘meandering in midfield’’.
The halfbacks are off form and the spark is missing.
Pat Lambie’s deft kick and Le Roux’s offload for Cobus Reinach’s try were feats at present beyond an England side who remain masters of messing up the overlap.
De Villiers added: ‘‘That’s where the game is going. Turnover ball, open broken field play and being able to get your X factor guys into it.’’
Who are England’s X factor guys? Mike Brown has been. George Ford may be. Danny Cipriani looks to have no chance; that eye-catching cameo against the All Blacks in Auckland seems a lifetime ago.
South African coach Heyneke Meyer said he felt England ‘‘can be a team in the [World Cup] final’’ but any right-minded coach would talk up opponents after beating them.
Samoa and Australia do not offer enough to save the series, and Lancaster knows he will go into a World Cup having lost five on the bounce against the All Blacks and without a win against the Springboks since 2006.
The only side ranked in the world’s top seven whom Lancaster has a winning record against are Ireland, courtesy of dogged 13-10 and 12-6 victories.
‘‘The heat is going to come from the rugby media and the rugby public,’’ Wood predicted.
It is becoming a mantra.
They could have beaten the All Blacks and could have beaten South Africa. England possess plenty of potential but this has been a torrid half-year. However, they have chosen a fine time to develop a losing habit. Nobody is on suicide watch but another poor display and it will be the Samaritans after Samoa.