'Nothing about England frightens me as an Irishman'

Former Ireland flanker Alan Quinlan has branded preparations by England for the upcoming Rugby World Cup as a disaster since last December’s sacking of Eddie Jones as head coach. The RFU ousted the Australian from his contract a year before it was due to expire at the end of France 2023, but the desired improvements have yet to materialise under Steve Borthwick.

England managed to halt a three-game losing streak with last Saturday’s comeback victory over Wales at Twickenham in the Summer Nations Series, but their generally high error count and drab style of play have inflated pessimism that they won’t do well at the World Cup.

They have two more dress rehearsals before they head to France, this Saturday versus Ireland in Dublin and then their August 26 Twickenham meeting with Fiji. Having seen England struggle in recent weeks in their two outings against the Welsh following on from an underwhelming Guinness Six Nations, Quinlan has predicted a comfortable Irish victory at the Aviva Stadium.

“Ireland will batter England; their preparation has been a disaster since Eddie Jones left,” he claimed. “Ireland are 15-20 points better than England. England have dished up two very average performances against Wales. They will get better but need to and quickly. Ireland will have far too much for England in Dublin.

“That is amazing to say when you think about where England should be. Their whole preparation has been a disaster with Eddie Jones going. The Rugby World Cup cycle has been badly managed and run on so many levels by England – and this England side has hit a brick wall for the last two years. Unless they find something out of the ordinary, they are not going to have a successful World Cup.”

Speaking to LuckyBlock.com, Quinlan suggested a change at No10 is needed. “Owen Farrell has to be dropped to inside centre and start (George) Ford or (Marcus) Smith. I would be playing Farrell at 12, not fly-half anyway, and go back to getting some zip and pace at 10. They need it and it is something different from Ford or Smith.

“But have they gone too far with the style? Is it too ingrained to change it now? It is ironic that we have seen England, with their backs against the ball, shake off the shackles. Look at the game against New Zealand last November. But they look shackled.

“Nothing about England frightens me as an Irishman; there is so much confusion. I’m not sure what game plan they have. They have a lot of good players, but they still seem to be trying to find a flow to their game. Their basic skill execution and inaccuracies are there for everybody to see.

“They kick a lot; they remind me of Ireland in 2019. But the game has moved on so much since then in terms of attack and structure and playing what you see in front of you and maximising the ability of individuals. They are very system-based and it is not working for them when that breaks down.

“We saw that during the Six Nations. They should be playing more attractive, free-flowing rugby because they have that ability. It’s not as if it’s a poor team, but they are playing poorly. At the moment they are not lighting it up in any way.

“Their performances against Wales are worrying. It is not just me saying this, it seems to be a widespread opinion. They are a tough watch. There is no spring in their step, no pace to their game and it must be concerning.

"In warm-up games you would expect a more free-flowing approach and for them to be under less pressure as regards making a mistake or taking a chance by putting the ball through the hands.

“It is up to Steve Borthwick and his assistants to find more zip in their attack. The warning signs were there in the Six Nations. You would have thought in their reviews they would have looked at their game plan and their attack and looked at some other teams.

“Attack is not just about putting the ball wide to the wings. It is about the whole structure when the game opens up and you get into multi-phase lines of running, tip-on passes and trying to keep the ball alive. England are difficult to watch and so poor at the moment.

“There are very good players in the England squad, but the game plan and the way they play is drab. It doesn’t mean they will be an easy touch and if they eliminate mistakes, they can win big games. But it is so poor at the moment.”