Great Expectations

By our Master in charge of Rugby Union Sam Forbes:

Sam speaking to Martin Johnson earlier this week

When England’s beloved Red Rose stands arm in arm against the Haka on Saturday afternoon, Twickenham as ever will expect a dramatic upset...

I put a question upon you: How many other countries in the World, apart from England, have a consistently competitive team in all major sports? I’m sure I will hear a resounding ‘none’. Our cricket team are holders of the ashes, we finished second in the medal tables in this summer’s Commonwealth Games, our rugby team were finalists in the last two World Cups, and our football team... Well I don’t need to go into that. With competitiveness comes expectation, and with expectation comes pressure, and this is exactly what has affected our rugby team since that glorious evening back in 2003.

Since that day, the England management have issued out no less than 75 new caps. In my view this is ridiculous. If one takes a look at The All Blacks, since the World Cup in 2003, they have built their team around a core eight players in all key positions- Woodcock, Mealamu, Thorne, McCaw, Carter, Nonu, Rokocoko and Muliaina. This has helped them maintain a consistency in team management- selection, and therefore a consitenecy in results. In contrast to this, the England selection team has not settled for these same values. The cause for this perhaps is the constant pressure from the fans, therefore causing the management to panic and make drastic changes. A perfect example of this is Matt Tait, in my view one of the most talented players in world rugby, yet after one UNLUCKY (not bad) game, Andy Robinson was pressured into dropping him. If the pressure was eased and the expectation was not so much, perhaps it would have been a different story for Tait and equally England since 2003. 

It seems now that Johnson and his staff have settled on a ‘core’ team, with the likes of Sheriden, Moody, Easter, Youngs, Ashton and Foden. The talent is certainly there and I hope that if we lose to New Zealand on Saturday (and i believe we will), Johnson does not feel pressured into making changes for Australia the following Saturday. After all, in 105 years, we have only beaten the All Blacks six times. 

So, back to the original point, Twickenham will expect an upset as always. However I ask otherwise of you, I ask you to not to have great expectations as it will inevitably end in bitter disappointment. Believe in the team we have, ease the pressure and perhaps something great might happen in the coming weeks at Fortress Twickenham.


Comments welcome...