England legend Brian Moore has called out the behaviour of England vice captain Ellis Genge in the build up to the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
The England vice-captain tweeted this following the defeat to Fiji: “Write us off now, all the best” and “To all the England rugby fans *supporting* us, we know we’re not where we want to be at all right now. We will get there, stick with us through the dark, thanks for the love, we appreciate it”.
Moore wrote in his column for The Telegraph: “This comes from not just a squad player but from the England vice-captain and the sarcastic jibe, witting or unwitting, is as unwelcome as it is misplaced.
“England fans might well retort along the lines that it is not their ‘performances’ that have seen England’s ‘attack’ register just five tries in the four World Cup warm-up games. Nor is it their ‘defence’ that has leaked 12 tries in those games.”
He continued: “Let us hope that the England squad put away the childish notion that their fans wish them ill. Let them eschew the sclerotic and ineffective building pressure-through-kicking game that has yielded almost nothing for the last nine games.
“May fans’ wishes be fulfilled and all those players with 50-plus caps start playing to their previous standards and we be shown exactly what England have been working on for the past three months. If, as George Ford, has been keen to stress, England are not far away from clicking, fans need – and are entitled to demand – that ambition replaces process and, if not, that the team’s systems at least make them winners if not entertainers.
“At the risk of repetition, every England fan, and all their former players, want the team to do well. If the England camp want to believe otherwise, in order to create an illusory bunker mentality, then so be it – provided it works. Otherwise, obliquely insulting your fans before the tournament starts might not be the wisest counsel.”
Expected England XV:
15. Freddie Steward
14. Elliot Daly
13. Joe Marchant
12. Ollie Lawrence
11. Jonny May