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Woodward names the one 'major learning for the future' for Borthwick
By Josh Raisey
Sir Clive Woodward has questioned the timing of England head coach Steve Borthwick's substitutions after their 33-31 loss to France in the final round of the Guinness Six Nations.
The World Cup-winning coach was effusive in his praise of England after a third-place finish in the Championship, paying credit to Borthwick in his Daily Mail column after a "strong campaign" with "so many positives for England".
The 68-year-old's only criticism remains the timing of the substitutions made by the head coach, saying the changes made in Lyon were unnecessary.
England raced to a 24-16 lead within seven minutes of the start of the second half, overturning a six-point deficit at half-time. Those tries preceded wholesale changes to England's front-row.
England did not score again for another half-hour, as the hosts surged back into the lead. While there was nothing in the match to suggest those changes were the cause of France's comeback, Woodward still feels they were not needed.
"One thing I’d still like Borthwick to do is a bit more thought on substitutions," he wrote. "He replaced the entire front row early in the second half against France. Those switches included captain Jamie George.
"I don’t think they were needed. Neither was removing Henry Slade for Manu Tuilagi who was having a strong game. Why take off your best players, especially your captain? That’s a major learning for the future but overall, well done Steve."
Woodward was particularly complimentary of Ellis Genge, crowning the loosehead as his player of the match. The Bristol Bears star was taken off as part of the front-row switch just moments after putting Ben Earl through a gap in the build-up to Marcus Smith's try.
"I thought Ellis Genge was just outstanding and for me man of the match. He scrummaged well, was strong in defence, and showed some nice passing. There is no doubt England have got a more-than-promising team if they approach games with an all-out attacking mindset."
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Latest Comments
The prospect of the club match ups across hemispheres is surely appetising for everyone. The reality however, may prove to be slightly different. There are currently two significant driving forces that have delivered to same teams consistently to the latter champions cup stages for years now. The first of those is the yawning gap in finances, albeit delivered by different routes. In France it’s wealthy private owners operating with a higher salary cap by some distance compared to England. In Ireland it’s led by a combination of state tax relief support, private Leinster academy funding and IRFU control - the provincial budgets are not equal! This picture is not going to change anytime soon. The second factor is the EPCR competition rules. You don’t need a PhD. in advanced statistical analysis from oxbridge to see the massive advantage bestowed upon the home team through every ko round of the tournament. The SA teams will gain the opportunity for home ko ties in due course but that could actually polarise the issue even further, just look at their difficulties playing these ties in Europe and then reverse them for the opposition travelling to SA. Other than that, the picture here is unlikely to change either, with heavyweight vested interests controlling the agenda. So what does all this point to for the club world championship? Well the financial differential between the nh and sh teams is pretty clear. And the travel issues and sporting challenge for away teams are significantly exacerbated beyond those already seen in the EPCR tournaments. So while the prospect of those match ups may whet our rugby appetites, I’m very much still to be convinced the reality will live up to expectations…
Go to commentsThe manipulative and cynical Erasmus….
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