At this rate Stuart Lancaster may soon have to swap his tracksuit for a white coat and a stethoscope. Coaching England at rugby is a stressful job at the best of times but when the casualty list starts to nudge into double figures before a home game against New Zealand the players’ ligaments and joints are not alone in coming under strain.
Following the removal of Joe Launchbury from the autumn equation with a neck injury, England now have a dozen potential squad members unavailable to face the All Blacks even before they embark on four hugely physical Test matches on successive weekends. What are their chances of reaching December without that figure rising further? Between slim and none, to borrow Don King’s favourite line, and slim is out of town.
As Lancaster well knows, however, it is no good crying over spilt semi-skimmed. One man’s crushing disappointment is another man’s big opportunity and English rugby is in the fortunate position of having increasing depth in several positions. Dave Attwood, Launchbury’s replacement-in-waiting, has been one of the outstanding forwards of the domestic season and, if anything, pairing him with Courtney Lawes will add even more meat to England’s already solid-looking scrum.
Lawes, for one, is adamant England’s supporters need not panic despite the enforced absence this weekend of, among others, Launchbury, Alex Corbisiero, Mako Vunipola, Tom Youngs, Dan Cole, Geoff Parling, Tom Croft and Manu Tuilagi. “The good thing about playing for such a talented country like England is you have a lot of players who can step up to the plate and take on the roles of others,” said the second row, not remotely fazed by the attrition rate among his fellow front five forwards.
“I honestly don’t think we’re under-strength at all. Different players have come in but I don’t think they’re any less players than the ones who are injured. You will lose certain strengths but you will gain others. Dave’s a very big man. I don’t tend to try and run at him directly, that’s for sure. He’s a great physical person to have and very much an enforcer. He gets through a hell of a lot of work, which is exactly what you need.”
There are also potential benefits to be had from introducing the uncapped George Kruis and Graham Kitchener to the Test environment, with the Saracen now in line to make his debut from the bench. By next year’s World Cup, England cannot afford to be throwing untried rookies into the fray and the second-row competition will only increase if Attwood, Kruis and Kitchener can impress now that Launchbury, Parling and Leicester’s Ed Slater are out of action. “If anything it strengthens your depth over the long term and creates opportunities in the short term,” Lancaster said.
The head coach, even so, could not entirely disguise his regret that Launchbury will miss the entire series, a nagging neck injury first sustained in Argentina last year having resurfaced at the most inconvenient of moments. “We’re desperately disappointed to lose Joe for the series,” Lancaster said.
“He felt underpowered and weak so we didn’t want him to take the risk. It’s got to the point where he feels it’s inhibiting his performances. We want to give him the best chance to get himself right for Wasps and through to the Six Nations.”
Niggling away in the back of everyone’s mind, however, is the million dollar question: is the increasing attrition rate, particularly up front, an unfortunate coincidence or a symptom of something far more worrying?
Talk to many within the game and there is an increasing consensus that players are featuring in too many big games for their own long-term good. In New Zealand, where the top players generally have a three-month off-season break, the injury toll is not so consistently heavy.
Publicly, however, Lancaster remains studiously diplomatic. “I don’t think it’s a pattern. Some have been injuries like Joe’s, which has been a gradual onset. Tom Youngs was a direct blow to the shoulder when Dave Attwood hit him in a club match. Geoff’s was concussion. I don’t think it’s a pattern, it’s just unfortunate they’ve happened in the same positions.”
It is hardly the first time, either, that England have had to deal with such issues.
For those who do run out at Twickenham on Saturday, a prized win over the All Blacks would ease any number of individual aches and pains.
