England’s scrum-half Richard Wigglesworth has reacted angrily to criticism by his country’s former captain Will Carling in the wake of Saturday’s defeat by Wales. Carling suggested England’s players were being treated like “schoolboys” within a “classroom orientated environment” but Wigglesworth has dismissed his comments as “ridiculous”.
“Certain people who have come out and said things should know better,” said Wigglesworth, who featured as a second-half replacement against Wales. “It seems no one has ever made a mistake in life and no one has made a decision that hasn’t worked out for them. I have no interest in anything they have to say because they are not here.
“They are not living it and doing it and I ain’t bothered. They annoy me, piss me off and I am not going to say they don’t. I am just indifferent to how ridiculous some of their chat is.”
Carling, who prior to the tournament also cast doubt on Sam Burgess’s credentials to play at centre for England, believes the current squad are not being encouraged to take decisions for themselves but Wigglesworth says England’s most capped captain is out of touch. “We knew coming into this it could be like this,” said the Saracens’ scrum-half. “But if he doesn’t know and hasn’t played the game for how long and hasn’t been involved in professional rugby for how long, let’s have a meaningful discussion about his knowledge, about what he knows about the game. He is there to further his own career and good luck to him.”
The Gloucester wing Jonny May also insists the players are happy with Lancaster’s regime. “The coaching team is the best I’ve ever had and Stuart’s only ever been fair to me. I couldn’t learn more than in this environment. It’s not fair to say they’re like school teachers. In fact it’s quite player-led.”
