Most England vs France rugby matches have been nicknamed #LeCrunch as they are normally tight contested affairs. This could not be further away from the truth lately as England are the team being crunched.
Yesterday England Rugby were humiliated on their home ground against the French. The reality is the French deserved to hit the 53 point mark which has never been achieved against the English before with the highest previous score being 48. What are the odds of Ireland beating England by a record margin next week as there is a chance this can happen. England are in tatters and do not know how to fix this as the players are not good enough along with having no confidence in their dwindling abilities.
The problem with England Rugby is the team as the players still believe they are world beaters. Rewind back to 2019 where England were well beaten by South Africa in the World Cup final and then had the audacity to snub wearing the silver medal as they expected the gold. This is pure bad manners showing a lack of sportsmanship which is what the squad has been about for way too long.
Borthwick took over the coaching role from sacked Eddie Jones recently and I mentioned it was not a good career move on his part. The idea he can turn the team around and challenge for the World Cup is laughable. They thought they could do what Rassie Erasmus could do with the Springboks, but these are different circumstances.
The players are what is wrong as they have been moly coddled and treated like pre madonnas for too long. A sense of entitlement every time they walk onto the field and they are just not good enough. The RFU did Eddie Jones a favor by getting rid of him as this squad is finished and needs to be totally rebuilt.
What makes no sense is how a squad of players so good can become so bad and the only answer is how they have been managed. 4 years is a long time and there should only be possibly 3 or 4 players left over from the last World Cup yet we are seeing the same faces. Changing this now will not help the team when they play in the World cup later this year.
When you hear the likes of Scotland calling the England team low hanging fruit you know they are in trouble. The matches are just too easy for the opposition and the score lines are starting to reflect what we already knew.
One problem could be the salary structure as everyone in the England squad earns the same amount whether you play or sit out. When this was agreed upon if you are in the 28 man squad you would be in line to earn £325,000 or £25,000 per game. This creates less competition for places as you get paid no matter if you play or not.
I would not be reading anything into how the French or Irish are playing as these teams are also considered low hanging fruit by the likes of the All Blacks and South Africa. Ireland pose the biggest threat at the World Cup later in the year, but quite honestly teams will be looking forward to the challenge. Ireland caught the All Blacks beating them in New Zealand and I take that as a one off not to be repeated next time around.
South Africa handles their squad differently to most other teams and experiments giving new faces opportunities when possibly they shouldn't. This is how Rassie Erasmus builds a squad over the 4 year intervals between World Cups as his aim is to win the tournament and sacrifices games in between. The strength is he has players who can step into the squad at a moments notice who already know the players and game plans.
How the South African coaches thinks is way different with an example of trying to recruit Nigel Owens who is seen as the best Rugby Referee from the last decade who is now coaching World Cup referees. This is next level thinking and why others are always playing catch up.
Staying at the top is the hardest thing to do as the wheel is always turning so changes have to happen continuously or you will be knocked off. England were at the top 4 years ago and have dropped down due to not paying attention and staying up to date with what needs to happen. Other teams are improving and challenging for your position and change has to happen or you get knocked off.
