Legendary England centre and former captain Will Carling has questioned the calibre of Steve Borthwick’s coaching team.
Steve Borthwick’s charges fell to a defeat in their opening game of the Six Nations but have bounced back to win back-to-back matches defeating France and Scotland by a single point.
Despite the wins, there has been much scrutiny levelled at the performance of the team with England not showing much attacking intent even with the Northampton Saints-heavy backline, seen by many as the best attacking team in the Premiership.
Carling questions England’s coaching team
Carling has questioned whether the largely inexperienced coaching ticket has played a role in the uninspiring performances of the team with the coaches unable to get the best out of their players.
“We do have some talented players there’s no doubt and maybe we’re seeing a slightly restricted version of them,” Carling told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
“You look at the calibre of the England coaching team and you have got to question whether that’s the best we can put out there.
“Some of them are learning, some of them are very young and maybe lack the experience at Test level. Maybe that’s what we’re seeing impact on the players.”
Sir Clive Woodward: The ‘invaluable’ impact of Jamie George after ‘no histrionics’
Borthwick recruited Richard Wigglesworth and Kevin Sinfield as his assistants when he took over from Eddie Jones ahead of the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
Wigglesworth had recently retired from his playing career and served as Leicester’s interim boss before joining the national set-up. The former scrum-half had begun coaching at the Tigers before officially hanging up his boots but still has less than a decade of coaching experience and the same is true for league legend Sinfield.
Meanwhile, England’s scrum coach Tom Harrison (33) is younger than some of the players in the squad while defence coach Joe El-Abd is working in international rugby for the first time.
Former Ireland international Felix Jones (37) was one of the more senior appointments in Borthwick’s staff despite his youth having started his coaching career at Munster before linking up with the Springboks winning two World Cups with South Africa. However, he has left the England set-up after seven months but is set to rejoin Rassie Erasmus’ team.
The ex-England skipper has since clarified that he is “a huge fan of Kevin Sinfield and what he is doing in the camp!!’ but added an interview with the Telegraph that his “frustration comes out in the resources that England have and the quality of players.”
He added: “We have had one Grand Slam since 2003 and that’s my frustration with English rugby. A lot of it is not focused on players, it is focused on how it is being run and coached. I am not absolving the players of everything, but if we are serious about winning, there are a lot of questions that should be asked, that aren’t. And that goes right to the top.”
Yet to reach their potential
Carling adds that he believes that England aren’t playing to their potential but is hopeful that will change.
“I still think we’re way off the potential of this team and let’s just hope we start seeing that,” he said.
Despite the criticism levelled at England this year, they remain in the Six Nations title race and will look to improve their chances with Italy visiting the Allianz Stadium in Twickenham this weekend.
Borthwick’s charges complete their campaign with a trip to Cardiff where they will tackle Wales.
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/england-players-are-a-restricted-version-of-themselves-as-will-carling-questions-the-calibre-of-steve-borthwicks-coaching-team
