Tuesday, 27 May 2014

Sir Clive Woodward: Sending under-strength England squad to New Zealand is ...


  • England coach Stuart Lancaster is having to leap through logistical hoops

  • Lancaster

    must challenge those selected to produce the performance of their

    careers

  • New Zealand tour is

    ideal for England as they prepare for 2015 World Cup


By

Sir Clive Woodward



Published:


23:24, 26 May 2014




|
Updated:


07:32, 27 May 2014



How can it be that in 2014, fully 18 years into the professional game, England are going to play a three-match Test series in New Zealand and are being prevented from picking their strongest team for the vital first Test?  Those missing players represent the biggest cock-up since the ‘Tour from Hell’ in 1998! 


I inherited a crazy itinerary that year when, in very quick succession, an under-strength squad had to play Australia, New Zealand A, New Zealand Academy, the first All Blacks Test, New Zealand Maori in midweek, the second Test and then take a 16-hour flight to play South Africa in Cape Town. 


VIDEO Scroll down to watch Stuart Lancaster talking player selection and Danny Cipriani


Out on their feet: Jonny Wilkinson (left) and Martin Johnson after England


Out on their feet: Jonny Wilkinson (left) and Martin Johnson after England’s 76-0 defeat by Australia



Absolutely insane. That itinerary was put together by somebody who didn’t put the England team first. Stuart Lancaster (England’s current coach) is having to leap through logistical hoops when this battle should have been fought – and won – a long time ago. Do not think for one minute this is just one of those things and won’t happen again. The Premiership has started to flex its muscles, as we have seen in the recent European Cup negotiations. 


England should always comes first if you want to win a World Cup.


The visit by England will be a massive

financial driver for the NZRFU and you would think the RFU might have

negotiated much harder on England’s behalf. The All Blacks never come

cheaply when they visit these shores and accept only the itinerary that

suits them. And I don’t blame them.


tour from hell results, 1998


Disappointment: England coach Clive Woodward during the 76-0 defeat by Australia in Brisbane


Disappointment: England coach Clive Woodward during the 76-0 defeat by Australia in Brisbane



Was enough

effort really made to get New Zealand to put the Test schedule back by a

week, which would have helped immensely? Were the England players

consulted at all? How much was Lancaster consulted? 



If I was a first-choice player such as Courtney Lawes, Tom Wood, Luther

Burrell, Owen  Farrell and Billy Vunipola – who will all miss out

because of the Premiership final – I would be livid at even being put in

this position. 



You dedicate large chunks of your career to win selection. You overcome

injuries to fight for  the jersey, earning the right  to play against

New Zealand  at Eden Park. Then, suddenly, your place is handed on a

plate to somebody else. 


Controversy: England


Controversy: England’s last two visits to New Zealand have been ruined by off-field incidents



This tour is starting on the back foot and it

will be great credit to Lancaster, his coaches, and especially the

players, if they come back with more positives than negatives from the

hardest school in world rugby.


Make no mistake, though, this tour is

ideal for England as they prepare for RWC 2015; they need to find out

where they are as a team and make some informed judgments on their

players.





Ideally, I would like to have seen an extra couple of fixtures,

certainly another midweek game against the Maori, to get a large squad

operating as one but it’s still an exciting itinerary.



It is also massively important off the field because England’s last two

visits to New Zealand have been ruined by off-field incidents.



End-of-season tours of New Zealand are just plain difficult but England

must flip the psychology around. English rugby is in a good place, with

a strong group of players on an upward curve and an excellent coaching

team improving with every game.  







Challenge: Tour has started on the back foot for England coach Stuart Lancaster


Challenge: Tour has started on the back foot for England coach Stuart Lancaster




England can

still put out a very competitive side next Saturday against a New

Zealand team that will be short on preparation. England should all be

highly motivated and, for many, it will still be the most important game

of their careers so far.


Lancaster

must challenge those selected to produce the performance of their

careers and come away with a win. England aren’t meant to win in New

Zealand. It doesn’t happen very often, nobody will be expecting it. But

it could happen.



The All Blacks will be strong favourites but there is an opportunity to

build a classic backs-to-the-wall mentality in Auckland ahead of the

first Test. If England win it will automatically make them favourites

for the World Cup – and that is what they should be aspiring to be.





Recall: Fly-half Danny Cipriani last played for England in 2008


Recall: Fly-half Danny Cipriani last played for England in 2008



If England do win, it gets very interesting psychologically. Only ‘special’ teams beat the All Blacks in New Zealand so  Lancaster would then have to decide whether to parachute in those five or six first-choice players  who were unavailable. 


Do you stick with the team that won or introduce players  champing at the bit to get their shirts back? That would be a great dilemma to face.


I believe that could be the case but touring New Zealand is the hardest assignment bar none. To win, you need everyone’s noses pointing in the same direction and the Premiership and the RFU have let down this group of players.











Comments (20)


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The comments below have not been moderated.





Will91,


Wakefield, United Kingdom,


1 hour ago


My XV for the First test – Marler, Ward, Wilson, Launchbury, Attwood, Slater, Robshaw, Morgan, Care, Cipriani, Yarde, Twelvetree’s, Tuilagi, May, Brown





Will91,


Wakefield, United Kingdom,


1 hour ago


My XV for the First test – Marler, Ward, Wilson, Launchbury, Attwood, Slater, Robshaw, Morgan, Care, Cipriani, Yarde, Twelvetree’s, Tuilagi, May, Brown





Stuart,


Huddersfield, United Kingdom,


3 hours ago


The real question about the NZ Test match is whether it will be a rugby score or,more likely,a cricket one.





unitedandquins26,


London, United Kingdom,


7 hours ago


this plus the rule banning players outside the premiership shows how ironically out of touch the RFU are with the England set up. All about the money for them.






IWWT,


London, United Kingdom,


10 hours ago


Hilarious, first half of article says the tour is madness and a shambles. The second half then says its good for England. Talk about hedging your bets!





BaggsyB,


Cruchten, Luxembourg,


8 hours ago


The first half of the article is talking about how badly it has been organised with reference to having the 1st test a week ‘too early’. He then goes on to say that if the players who are in – as a result of the others not being there – do well, and even win, then it is a great sign for the World Cup. Too many syllables for you?






IWWT,


London, United Kingdom,


6 hours ago


I can spot a chancer when I see one and Woodward is in a class of his own in that department. Too many gullibles for you?





Alex,


West London,


11 hours ago


By forcing England’s hand, this Summer is the final chance to unearth any players who have been waiting in the wings – the most talked about being Cipriani (which we will finally be able to stop debating and put to rest, however it turns out) – before the World Cup. After this tour, England have four games at home during the Autumn Internationals followed by the five Six Nations games and three warm-up games. Once these final 12 games kick-off, England will be in an excellent place to work out and select, with no stone left unturned (except for this headline-creating Sam Burgess situation!), a very-strong-in-depth World Cup Squad with plenty of injury cover ready to jump in at a moment’s notice…and if they can win a game on top of all that…pretty exciting!





loulou,


London,


9 hours ago


Thank you! its nice to hear some positivity about this. Obviously, conditions aren’t ideal but I’m just looking forward to watching some more international games, esp England. Win or lose you know this England camp will give their all and won’t stop till the final whistle. There is no embarrassment in that.





Teeps,


Manchester,


12 hours ago


Whoever organised this at the RFU needs to be disciplined or sacked. To go to NZ with a full strength side is daunting enough but missing several players because of the Premiership finals is unacceptable. It is unacceptable from the country’s perspective but also a kick in the face to those players who should be there and for supporters some of whom will travel to watch. A very very poor piece of organisation.






Bbb,


London, United Kingdom,


12 hours ago


I sense a bout of food poisoning or a mystery virus coming on. There is another team that uses this excuse quite often when they lose isn’t there?





truthhurts,


Best Ever, New Zealand,


10 hours ago


try using google and you’ll see both were reported before the games started and no one AB ever used them as an excuse. Try sticking to your usual routine of blaming the ref when u get smashed. 30 – 3 wasn’t it and it was the ref’s fault.






wicked_queen1,


Manchester, United Kingdom,


12 hours ago


Ridiculous planning by the RFU.





null,


United Kingdom,


12 hours ago


This seems to happen every time England tour NZ. Talk about giving up before a game’s even played!



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