England lead the card stats (not good) this Six Nation which reveals so much more about the team.
Winning in a team sport is not necessarily about having star players, but more about players who play the team game and gel with others. After watching the Six Nations over the last 7 weeks it was clear some of the teams had weaknesses that other teams will exploit. The idea is you use every aspect of the game to gain an advantage and win through whatever it takes, but there is a line you do not cross and that is by not being sent off weakening the team.
In all honesty being a neutral fan England should have won the match against France on Saturday night which would have handed Ireland the Six Nations trophy. The amateur mistakes is not down to poor coaching necessarily, but more about how aware the players are in reading the game and keeping their emotions in check.
I watched the match again on Sunday evening and it is no wonder their coach Steve Borthwick has no hair because it must be so frustrating to watch. The very good teams or great teams of the past all had one thing in common and that they had an exceptional captain. The captain would slow things down and have the respect of the other players who would listen to his advice. he would be the sole voice on the field and not have everyone chirping or speaking to the referee. South Africa have a policy of only the captain speaks to the referee and it is a yes sir three bags full type of approach.
Maro Itoje is the England captain and in his own right is a very good player but a leader he is not. A leader needs to be diplomatic and his goal should be to win the referee onto his side by showing respect and querying any decisions he disagrees with politely. There were a couple of shockers which lead to France scoring points and by that time Itoje had already lost the referee. Respect is earned and goes both ways and over this entire campaign I have seen a sulky, cocky captain who thinks he knows better. There has been no humility which possibly could go in the teams favor with 50/50 calls.
The final straw that made me think the team needs a new captain is the bad sportsman like behavior right at the end when France was awarded a penalty. Itoje stood for as long as he could directly in front of the kicker in order to try and put him off. This was very obvious and even the commentators mentioned this as it was that obvious what the intentions were. This was a desperate act that could have been punished and I believe it should have been with the penalty moving another 10 meters up the field.
The five matches England played in this years Six Nations the team received 9 yellow cards with one player being red carded for 2 yellows in the match. This equals the record for the tournament and Itoje had two of those for illegal play. One was for a ball slapping which was really stupid right in front of the referee and you cannot win a match with less players on the field. England played on average 20 minutes per match or 75% of the 5 games with 14 players and not 15 (100 minutes 9 yellow with one red so an extra 10 minutes). Games are hard enough to win without handicapping yourself which is the biggest problem here.
In comparison Wales had 7 and finished stone last whilst, Italy had only 3 and Ireland and Scotland only had 2 yellow cards each. England finished 2nd bottom on the table and with the poorest disciplinary record which all stems from the leadership. The attitude of the players suck and this is the teams weakness and has been for as far as i can remember. The players think they are Gods gift to the sport which the coaching staff and selectors need to sort out. The team needs direction and leadership and what may have been a strength in selecting certain players has become their weakness.
I know other teams have had similar problems in the past and it does not matter who you are as everyone is replaceable. The team comes first and there is no room for players with egos because this will unravel fast and the main reason behind their 4 losses in a row. This is not the team that is bad it is the overall balance along with disciplinary issues of certain players that need to be removed.
