Sir Clive Woodward has outlined a comprehensive five-point strategy aimed at rescuing England’s World Cup aspirations before the upcoming tournament commences next month.
With head coach Steve Borthwick having unveiled his 33-man squad for the highly-anticipated event, some prominent players such as Henry Slade and Alex Dombrandt were surprisingly left out.
Kicking off their campaign against Argentina in Marseille on 9 September, Woodward expressed his dissent over certain selection choices while presenting his manifesto in a column for the Mail Online.
RUCK takes a closer look at the plan, offering our evaluation of whether Woodward’s insights are on the mark or if he is once again critiquing his successor without valid reasons.
#1. PLAY WITH PACE
Woodward wrote: “England have to find a way of playing with pace. Borthwick’s side won’t beat the best teams at the World Cup with the same old tactics of kick and chase!”
RUCK verdict: Steve Borthwick seems to have maintained Eddie Jones’ gameplay approach, which didn’t yield desired results and ultimately led to Eddie’s dismissal. While it’s true that speeding up the play is necessary, the omission of pacey players like Cadan Murley, Jonny May, and Henry Slade implies that Borthwick might not prioritize this aspect.
England’s sprint times were put together by RugbyDump during the initial training camp with Borthwick leaving out his two fastest players.
Caden Murley: 5.74
Jonny May: 5.79
Joe Marchant: 6.06
Guy Porter: 6.19
Henry Slade: 6.69
Jack van Poortvliet: 6:81
Freddie Steward: 6.94