Rugby legend Sir Clive Woodward argues that England’s Six Nations campaign has suffered a significant setback due to their selection strategy.
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Despite a hard-fought 16-14 victory over Wales at Twickenham last Saturday, Steve Borthwick’s team failed to secure bonus points against either Wales or Italy, resulting in what Woodward deems a “massive own goal” for the squad.
“I was at Twickenham as a fan on Saturday. There has been a lot of talk about getting a connection back between the team and supporters and improving the matchday experience,” Woodward wrote for the Daily Mail.
“My message to the RFU would be to forget the gimmicks like light shows, DJs and bands which are designed to get the crowd going. You can’t force fun.
“There is no need to try and create it. If England can play in a way that gets fans off their seats with excitement, then the Twickenham atmosphere will take care of itself.
“A good start would be getting the best players on the field. The sight of Henry Arundell in the Twickenham hospitality boxes rather than on the field on Saturday was another massive own goal that is just devaluing international rugby, selection for which should be sacrosanct.”
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“0/10” – Five players who flopped in the 2024 Six Nations today
Below, we look at five players who across the day who failed to perform for their respected nation.
FIVE PLAYERS WHO FLOPPED:
#1. Duhan van der Merwe (Scotland)
Rugby Dump 4/10: “Pretty anonymous throughout as he rarely got his hands on the ball. He did save a certain French try albeit in controversial circumstances as he appeared to go high but got away with it.”
Planet Rugby 5/10: “Like Rowe. the behemoth flyer did not see much of the ball but when he did, he kept France‘s defence busy. He eventually gained 18 attacking metres from five runs and was pretty anonymous on defence as he only made three tackles but missed two of those.”
Rugby 365 5.5/10: “Came off his left wing to make the extra man in the attack that led to White’s try, but didn’t have the ball in his hands enough from a Scottish point of view. Well shackled by the French defence, and made one excellent cover tackle to collar Fickou after the centre’s coruscating break.”