In the wake of a watershed moment for the Red Rose, Sir Clive Woodward has offered solutions on how to fix 'ugly England' following Saturday's record defeat to France.
Steve Borthwick's first Six Nations in charge of the national team took another ugly turn at Twickenham, where Les Bleus blazed to a 53-10 win, the hosts' heaviest defeat ever on home soil. Woodward, 67, 'didn't sleep a wink' after the wake-up call and encouraged every participant in the English rugby system to 'look in the mirror' as he suggested actionable responses that could help stop the rot.
"There are two main changes which need to happen, which mirror two priorities I faced. Unfortunately, neither are quick fixes," wrote the 2003 Rugby World Cup-winner in his Daily Mail column. "The first is that England need to improve their speed, athleticism and fitness across the park.
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"The French game showed England’s players are not in the same league as Les Bleus when it comes to having the physical ability to play with pace and power. It was like men against boys at the breakdown. The French back-row was awesome. Their entire team were superb in contact. They took England to the cleaners."
As if a 23-29 loss at home to Scotland in week 1 hadn't already inspired panic among English fans, the team's prospects ahead of this year's World Cup appear more bleak than ever after a French masterclass. Saturday's humbling even encouraged talk of whether England were right to sack Eddie Jones in December, though Woodward previously insisted the current malaise started under the Australian's watch.
It's important to note Borthwick is still only three months into his second senior coaching role, while imminent World Cup hosts France have been among the best teams in the world for several years now. Woodward insisted England's current mess is similar to the one he inherited when he took over in 1997, but "drastic change to the system" is required to get back to the top of rugby's totem.
Les Bleus proved to be everything England were not at Headquarters on Saturday; clinical in possession and calm in defence, measured with moments of magic but disciplined in all the right areas. Boasting one of the largest player pools of any rugby-playing nation, England "have quality players," Woodward proclaimed, but the second change that's required must occur 'between the ears'.
"The mindset of how to play the game must be totally re-thought. France showed that they have the individual skills and collective desire to attack from anywhere from one to 15. They are brilliant to watch," he continued. "The conditions were awful on Saturday but still they kept coming and coming.
"It was a privilege to witness and impossible to stop unless you enter the arena with a similar skillset and attitude. France scored seven sensational tries and their joie de vivre was shown to me by Damian Penaud’s brace. Truly sensational rugby. By contrast, England’s players are prototyped to kick and opt for a safety-first approach. That mindset has to totally switch."
Things will get worse before they get better, it seems, given England are due to wrap up their Six Nations campaign with a trip away to world No. 1 Ireland on Saturday, with their hosts in sight of a Grand Slam. The fixture is now about saving face, the first of a five-game run-up before they open their 2023 World Cup against Argentina on September 9.
After a glum 2022 that comprised just five wins from their 13 games, England's ignominy has extended—and even worsened—in the early stages of 2023. It appears as though the only way is up for a team that not long ago was competing at the highest echelons of the sport, though Woodward warned the transformation won't come "with one wave of a magic wand."
