A lot of the focus in the fall-out after England’s Nations Championship defeat by South Africa has been on comments made by Ellis Genge in the side’s post-match huddle.
They were released as part of a video filmed by the RFU’s in-house media team. ‘For about 60 minutes of that game, they (South Africa) didn’t have any answers,’ Genge said.
‘We were all over them.’ Given England were beaten 45-21, the clip has made plenty of headlines with some commenting on social media that it shows England’s players are delusional and accept mediocrity. I do think it was madness for the RFU to put the video out as all it has done is open up England – who are already copping plenty of flak – to more criticism.
But I would also say that Steve Borthwick’s team have far bigger things to worry about. In international rugby environments, what you say internally is often very different to the messaging you put out externally in press conferences and interviews.
As a senior player in a squad with a number of young players that’s lost five games in a row, Genge has to try and inject some positivity into his team-mates, even if he doesn’t necessarily believe it.
What else is he supposed to do?
Englans fans shouldn’t overreact to Ellis Genge’s comments in the wake of the South Africa defeat
Steve Bortwick’s side lost 45-21 to the Springboks in what was a concerning defeat
If Genge had been filmed saying ‘You know what lads, we’re absolute rubbish! Let’s all pack up and go home’ then he’d have got pelters for doing that too. He can’t win!
Genge is a brilliant player and bloke. He’s big driver of emotional energy in the teams he plays in. He’d have known what England needed after losing in Johannesburg which is why he said what he said. What I’d be annoyed about if I was Genge was that his comments were made public. They should have been kept private. Internal positive messaging is so important in Test rugby.
Warren Gatland was a master at it. In my time working under him with Wales, he’d say things all the time that were pretty outlandish. But what they did do was give us as players real belief. A great example is the 2019 Six Nations. Before our first game with France that year, Warren told the press we would win the Grand Slam as long as we won in Paris.
He’s been on record since then saying he had no idea if that would happen. But his belief transferred to us as players. We won in Paris and went on to win the Grand Slam.
Genge’s comments have been picked up because England lost again. But to me, they are a molehill made into a mountain. Any supporters focusing on that are missing the real problem.
England’s biggest issue for me is they look caught between two stools.
In their 12-game unbeaten run, you knew what England stood for. Their team had an identity and a clear game plan. Whatever you thought of it, you knew watching England they would have a physical approach and a kick-to-reclaim strategy.
There can be no doubt it was successful. But international rugby evolves quickly and it is now apparent you need more than that to win. You have to attack and score points.
England are trying to do that and it is the right way for them to go, but I don’t think they have yet fully committed to this new approach. Old habits die hard, but England have to switch their mentality and approach fully to have success. I much prefer their side for Fiji this weekend to the one which faced the Springboks. It has an X Factor on the bench in the presence of Benhard Janse van Rensburg and Noah Caluori who are both primed for debuts.
England’s biggest issue is that they appear to be two stools. Previously, on a run of 12 wins in a row, it was clear what the team stood for
From numbers 19 to 23, there are replacements who can change the game when they come on. As I wrote last week, I like the balance of Henry Slade at outside centre and Tommy Freeman on the wing. England’s pack should get a lot more ball against Fiji and if that happens, it will allow Freeman and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso to get on the front foot.
England have a strong pack and they should be able to get plenty of joy in the scrum and maul against Fiji, as Wales did in their game with the Pacific Islanders last week.
It should be enough to allow England to get back to winning ways. That will relieve some of the pressure on Borthwick as coach, but England need to use this game as the start of a new chapter. Mauling and scrumming will be enough to beat Fiji. But it won’t be against better teams, so I’d like to see England use their expected dominance in these areas to lay the platform for their wide players to cause havoc. Getting the best out of guys like Freeman and Feyi-Waboso is the key to future success, regardless of what is said or not said in the huddle!
I was really proud of Wales for their victory over Fiji. I think it’s been underestimated by a lot of people and could be placed into greater context this weekend depending on how the Pacific Islanders fare against England. It was such an important result for Steve Tandy’s men.
In my time with Wales, we’d be judged by how we fared against the best in the world. That’s not the case now. This Wales team is competing with the likes of Italy and Fiji and in their past two games, they’ve beaten both of them. That’s been really important in continuing the positive feeling of momentum that Steve has brought in since taking on the coaching role.
Wales had become so used to losing, so back-to-back victories is vital for belief. If you count the non-capped game with the Barbarians, it’s three wins in a row.
Everyone has been quick to jump on Wales in the past two years, but I think Tandy deserves a fair bit of credit for improving fortunes. Don’t get me wrong, Wales aren’t going to be World Cup contenders by the end of this summer, but they’re on an upward path.
Wales’ win over Fiji came as a real boost after they managed to beat Italy too
Louis Rees-Zammit has been left out of the Welsh side which will face Argentina on Saturday
The next step for Wales is to take the scalp of a team above them in the rankings like Scotland, Australia or Argentina. They have the chance to do that this weekend against the Pumas. Given he can create something from nothing, I am surprised Wales have dropped their star man Louis Rees-Zammit for Argentina, but it does show that Tandy is not afraid to make big calls. It wasn’t Rees-Zammit’s best game against Fiji, but nor was it really a match for wingers as it was one in which Wales – sensibly – used their forwards more than their backs. Argentina were poor against Scotland, but they’d only just assembled and have more players back for Wales. They will be favourites, especially at home, but Wales have a chance. A victory would be Tandy’s best yet since taking over.
There had been a lot of scepticism about the start of the new Nations Championship competition. People were wondering whether or not it was better than traditional summer tours. The impact of the travel on teams was also discussed heavily. But I thought the first round of matches was excellent and again reinforced the fact that international rugby is in rude health.
The Six Nations earlier this year was the best ever and that entertainment continued last weekend. Everyone wants to see running rugby with more tries and less kicking.
I don’t think supporters who watched the six games would have been left short changed. Hopefully, that trend continues for the next fortnight!
Don’t miss The Debrief with Dan Biggar and Ronan O’Gara, brought to you by Allianz on ITV4 8pm every Sunday night, as they dissect the biggest talking points from the Nations Championship.
