English rugby exposed by embarrassing media leaks

AFTER three and a half years in one of the most pressurised hotseats in sport, Martin Johnson elected to stand down as England’s rugby union coach last week.  Johnson, who had no previous coaching experience before this role has made the decision after a dismal World Cup in New Zealand, which included off-field issues involving captain Mike Tindall and Manu Tuliagi jumping off a ferry.  Quarter-final elimination at the hands of France was the final straw for Johnson, whose decision gives Rob Andrew and the RFU the chance to find a replacement in time for next year’s Six Nations.

     At a press conference to explain his decision, Johnson said; “While we’ve had our most successful season with ten wins from 13, we are disappointed with how we ended it with the World Cup.  I think it’s the right decision at this time.  It’s a thoughtful and considered opinion.”  On Twitter, former England captain Will Carling was disappointed with the final outcome; “Sad for MJ, the man was an awesome player, an incredible captain and one of the greatest England players.” 

RESIGNING: Martin Johnson has decided to leave after World Cup failure

      As a player, Martin Johnson had considerable success with Leicester Tigers at club rugby level and England on the international stage.  He won 84 caps in test rugby, with the big moment seeing Johno captaining England to victory in the 2003 Rugby World Cup.  In his 38 game reign as coach, he only won 21, coming out with a 55 per cent win conversion since succeeding Brian Ashton in 2008.  Under Johnson, England did beat Australia home and away last summer and won the Six Nations in 2011 for the first time in eight years, but even that success was tempered by being denied the Grand Slam in Dublin by Ireland.

      Rob Andrew now needs to look for a replacement, but that looks like being a difficult challenge.  New Zealand World Cup winning coach Graeme Henry ruled himself out of the running in midweek, saying he only wants to be involved in an advisory role with a Heineken Cup team.  Jake White, who won the Webb Ellis Trophy with South Africa in 2007 and former England boss Sir Clive Woodward have already said they aren’t interested in taking over the reins.  The favourite with many seems to be Northampton Saints coach Jim Mallander, who already looks after the careers of England stars such as Chris Ashton.  Mallander has indicated that he is interested in the role, but the RFU seem reluctant at the moment to make a decision.

       What seems to be a more pressing concern for the RFU is the damming leak to The Times newspaper of player comments made by the squad during the disaster in New Zealand.  The leak contains information that would normally be handled in a confidential manner and will leave Andrew being asked some serious questions over his already tricky position.  We don’t know how much The Times got hold of, nor how many players views have been published, but some of the comments below make for grim reading for the RFU;

“The man-management was absolutely terrible.”

“There wasn’t enough focus on basic skills.”

“I really can’t believe we lasted as long as we did in the tournament. We played like c##p.”

“To go into World Cup games not having a game-plan, any structure or clear idea of what we were going to do in attack was astonishing.”

“Coaches did not put enough trust in players on the field.”

“We just wanted Johno to have the b######s to take action, especially after the Tindall night. He was too loyal and that was his downfall.”

“It was amazing how some players who couldn’t play due to an injury were doing back flips into the swimming pool and playing golf.”

“It’s our own fault we came back so unpopular.”

That is only a selection of what has been released, but it is hugely embarrassing for everyone connected with English rugby.  At a time where there is no structure in place, players are trying to win back reputation and multi-million sponsorship contracts from the likes of Nike and O2 waiting for urgent renewal, this comes at the worst possible time.

      While we say goodbye to Martin Johnson and wish him the best for the future, English rugby has got a lot of soul searching to do in the nine weeks before the start of the 2012 RBS Six Nations.