The debate over responsibility for England’s decline — they end the year in seventh place in the International Rugby Board (IRB) rankings — continued yesterday amid a swirl of speculation that Andy Robinson’s 27 months as head coach are about to end. Robinson’s many errors of judgment have been compounded by sheer bad luck.
The mistakes
Accepting the job
Robinson took over in September 2004 despite advice from his predecessor, Sir Clive Woodward, not to do so under the existing terms and conditions. Woodward resigned reminding everyone that the 2003 World Cup had been won despite, rather than because of, the system but Robinson rushed to embrace the role for which he had spent four years preparing. There were no guarantees of improved player-release dates, no changes to the coaching staff and no indication that the club versus country row that has bedevilled English rugby would be resolved.
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Naming Jonny Wilkinson as captain
Wilkinson was chosen before he had proved his form and fitness or Robinson himself had been confirmed as Woodward’s successor. The injury-haunted Newcastle Falcons fly half needed longer to show that he was back to his best.
The unavailability of England’s World Cup-winning dropped-goal hero continued to prove a burden for Robinson and the man who could not be Wilkinson but had to replace him, Charlie Hodgson.
Naming Mathew Tait against Wales
This was the tip of an iceberg for the coach whose weakness in selection and tactical replacements has been an Achilles’ heel. Olly Barkley had the greater experience and should have played in the Six Nations match in January 2005; Tait received a battering in an 11-9 defeat and then found himself out of the squad completely, an error that Robinson has subsequently acknowledged.
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There are many others: Henry Paul against Australia three months earlier; bringing Lawrence Dallaglio into the squad last season and his use as a replacement for Martin Corry, the captain; the use — or non-use — of players such as Magnus Lund and Tait on the Australia tour last summer; the withdrawal of Hodgson against Argentina this month and the use of Toby Flood.
His love affair with rugby league
It started with the decision to replace Wilkinson as captain with Jason Robinson, a player whose form was declining and whose instincts were formed in another code. It continued with Andy Farrell and subsequently, the enthusiasm for Chev Walker’s arrival at Bath.
Robinson went overboard for Farrell when he switched from Wigan Warriors to Saracens. This sent out the wrong message to his own code and then, of course, Farrell could not play for more than a year through injury.
Blind optimism
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Robinson has always believed success was around the corner. Maybe that is a condition that coaches must live with but it does not add to their credibility if, as Robinson did, they describe defeat by France at Twickenham as “magnificent”. Even last weekend, after defeat by South Africa, Robinson said that success was inches away.
The misfortune
From the outset
To lose virtually an entire World Cup-winning team, either through retirement or loss of form. That process began almost immediately after the win in Sydney, when Woodward was still coach, but Robinson could reasonably hope to build another team around the likes of Steve Thompson, Ben Kay, Trevor Woodman, Mike Tindall, Josh Lewsey and Wilkinson.
He could not know that so many players would slip so far from that peak, that a young prop such as Woodman would be forced to retire or that Richard Hill would become unavailable through injury. Instead of a hard core of winners, he found himself having to rebuild the foundations.
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Injuries
From the beginning, when Wilkinson was forced to relinquish the captaincy even before assuming it. That same autumn, such individuals as James Simpson-Daniel and Alex Brown were ruled out of the November internationals while, a month later, Will Greenwood was ruled out of the 2005 Six Nations.
It went on and on. He lost Ben Cohen midway through the 2005 Six Nations when the wing fractured a cheekbone playing in a charity match. An entire playing XV was unavailable to him before this month’s internationals and Robinson has become accustomed to changing his playing XV at short notice.
Refereeing decisions
When you are winning, the 50-50 decisions always seem to go your way. To put it another way, good teams make their own luck. Two decisions by Jonathan Kaplan, the referee, in the 19-13 defeat by Ireland in 2005 were roundly criticised by Robinson and his outburst earned him a slap on the wrist from the RFU.
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A year later Robinson was “staggered” by decisions made by Nigel Whitehouse immediately before tries by Ireland in the 28-24 loss at Twickenham. This autumn, Jamie Noon appeared to score a try against New Zealand that everyone except the television match official believed should have been awarded.
The decline of the club game
In the period before the 2003 World Cup, England boasted world-class individuals and a club game in which Leicester had won the Heineken Cup twice and London Wasps were poised to do the same. When Robinson came to the job, those individuals were going or had gone and the Premiership clubs’ impact on Europe was far less.
The intensity of Premiership rugby remains but the skill levels have gone down. No club is setting absolute standards, as Leicester and Wasps did; Sale Sharks looked as though they might last season but have been hard hit by injury and it is telling that Bristol are top of the table.
Stand-off between club and country
Robinson worked his hardest to create a rapport between the RFU and the Premiership clubs only to see the sides end up in court — twice.
Robinson hoped that this would change but the support he wanted only came two years into the job when Rob Andrew joined the RFU. Woodward and Francis Baron, the RFU chief executive, were two mavericks who were good for each other; Robinson is a different character who believes that the sport’s politics are other people’s business.