Eddie.
It was a sacking offence losing to them when Andy Robinson was coach, it was a sacking offence to draw with them when Martin Johnson was coach, it’s a sacking offence to coach England to a loss then a draw with them, Eddie Jones.
Drawing with Scotland when you’ve been 31 points up after half an hour… that’s doubly a sacking offence.
What does Eddie Jones do to them at half-time. They go in at the break with a healthy lead – 31-7 here, 10-3 up against Wales, 31-7 against Italy – and just don’t emerge for the second half. Is Gareth Southgate giving the half-time talk? Maybe they need to stop that huddle and just head straight into the dressing room at the break. Though of course it hasn’t just happened at half-time, they’ve coughed up big leads in the first half as well. Against South Africa and New Zealand.
Owen Farrell’s deer in the headlights post match interview pretty much summed up this performance. They just didn’t have a clue. They’re OK when on top but once the opposition gets a foothold blind panic sets in and the one trick stops working.
When the opposition are all of a panic and not functioning the England kicking game works. They racked up some points with it in this tournament. Once the opposition gets their shit together, England’s kicking game stops working.
A team on the back foot it’s OK. A team on the front foot and Ben Youngs’ box kicks are just giving away the ball and encouraging the opposition to attack and once they start doing this England’s defence disappears and they fall to pieces.
What does Eddie and the rest coach them?
Anyway they gifted Wales that Grand Slam, as did France – I mean you can’t class it as a great Grand Slam winning side when this French team destroyed ’em over 40 minutes and they needed all those gift tries the French coughed up.
But the one thing the Welsh have got right… defence. And the man who got them there is gonna be free soon. No, not Gatland – do we really want that smug Care Bear? – no, Shaun Edwards. He’s available, he’s basically screaming out to the RFU “come and get me”, can the blazered clowns let him slip through their fingers again?
England scored far more points than any other team, nearly got 200 over the five games, while conceding more than Ireland and only a few less than France and Scotland. Get that points against down to the Wales figure – 36 points less than England – and that title and Grand Slam is England’s.
Oh and find someone other than Ben Youngs…