THE ENGLAND COACH
SPORT, we recognise, is cyclical and England have been in a trough almost since ascending the peak of World Cup triumph in 2003. During that period, the skills and fitness of English players have been questioned as an old generation has given way to newcomers, many still honing their ability in the Guinness Premiership.
They are questioned, moreover, by Brian Ashton, returning as attack coach after England’s fourth place in last season’s RBS Six Nations Championship. “The skills of some of our players don’t stand up under the pressure of international rugby,” Ashton said. “The evidence was there on the June tour to Australia.”
He believes that the decline suffered over the past three years owes much to the demands made on players by the crowded fixture list, leaving too little recovery time from a collision-based sport that is gaining in physicality year on year. Ashton is also critical of the prevailing gym culture at the expense of the re-creation of match situations.
“Maybe we encourage decisions to be made by one or two individuals, about where or how we play next, and that can be inhibiting,” he said. “Those individuals may be under intense pressure themselves. The decision-making must be shared around. There’s a very fine line to be drawn, from a coaching point of view, between instructing and encouraging players. Once they cross the white line, they’re on their own.
“These guys have to be willing to stand up and make decisions and that needs to be encouraged by the right sort of coaching. One of the positive signs from the end of the last Premiership season was the number of sides who freed up their game and played with greater ambition, which allowed players to display a greater range of skills.
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“Whether that was because they knew that Leeds Tykes would be relegated, I’m not sure, but I imagine the new season will show very quickly what the thinking is among head coaches. Everyone has the right to coach how they want, to get the best out of their team and the results they need.”
THE CLUB COACH
BROADLY speaking, directors of rugby and head coaches at Premiership clubs believe that the skills of their players bear comparison to any other leading country. Steve Meehan, the acting head coach at Bath after spending four years with Stade Français and their cosmopolitan battery of internationals, has been pleasantly surprised by what he has found at the Recreation Ground while Paul Grayson, the Northampton head coach, draws a line between New Zealand and the rest.
Grayson, the former England fly half, has a clutch of New Zealanders in his squad at Franklin’s Gardens, including Bruce Reihana, the new club captain, and the unique skills of Carlos Spencer at fly half. “There is a difference between New Zealand and everyone else and that derives partly from the place occupied by the game in their culture,” Grayson said.
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“But I watch mini-rugby in England, I see more children playing since the 2003 World Cup, more information is out there about ways to train and these kids will grow up with better skills. Someone like Carlos has an amazing skill set and natural ability, but everything is practised, every flick or trick has come from somewhere.
“Someone like Ben Cohen (the England wing) is not the most natural player in the world, but has made the absolute most of everything he’s got. You have to remember that, in England, we tend to play in a certain way — for example, the No 12 is meant to carry the ball up, whereas in New Zealand he’s a second fly half, with all that implies.
“At Northampton, we place pressure on our backs to play with skill all the time and the approach of Spencer, of Reihana, has rubbed off on the youngsters around them. They have seen what is achievable. It’s more a matter of what you are encouraged to do. It’s no surprise that England under Brian Ashton — before he left in 2002 — played some of the most exciting rugby they have played for years, and it was winning rugby.
“But last season we saw people concerned with Premiership survival recognise that the driving maul was not the be-all and end-all. It’s a case of finding a balance and becoming more effective as a result.”