England legend Brian Moore has had enough of head coach Steve Borthwick’s reluctance to address the growing list of close-call losses, as England fell to yet another narrow defeat against the All Blacks.
RUCK’s Autumn Nations Series coverage is proudly powered by the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, dedicated to creating a world free of MND. Join the the fight against MND here.
Moore, who has long been a vocal critic of England’s performance, believes fans deserve a more transparent approach from Borthwick, whose tactical decisions and team selections are coming under the microscope.
With England unable to turn tight games into wins, supporters are feeling that Borthwick’s evasiveness is starting to wear thin. The pressure is mounting—not just for better results, but for answers.
Moore began his column for The Telegraph: “Steve Borthwick’s post-match comment that “it is important to recognise how much went right” is the sort of statement that, whilst having partial validity, is wearing thin with England supporters after seeing their team fail to get over the line in a succession of games in which they have held what should have been defendable leads going into the final minutes.
“These games go back as far as Handre Pollard’s last-gasp penalty for South Africa in the semi-final of the last World Cup.”
Moore added: “If nobody from the England management is prepared to answer eminently reasonable questions such as: “Why did you substitute Marcus Smith at 62 minutes, particularly when George Ford has had limited game time recently?”
“Or if they offer platitudes such as: “We thought it was the right decision at the time,” then they cannot complain if the media and the supporters offer their own answers, and they get criticised as a result.”
“Brutally targeted” – Five players who flopped in the opening round of the Autumn Nations Series
Here’s a look at five players who’ll want to leave their performances behind after the All Blacks defeated England and Scotland routed Fiji in the Autumn Nations Series opener.
Ellis Genge (England)
Guardian 5/10: “Back from calf injury and gassed by Tele’a for first try. Embraced the blitz defence but beaten by Jordan too easily as well.”
Telegraph 5/10: “Brutally targeted by the All Blacks for their opening tries by Tele’a and Jordan. Rule of thumb: don’t leave your prop exposed against All Black outside backs.”
Ben Spencer (England)
Guardian 5/10: “First start at 32 and looked nervous, caught out at one ruck on his own 22 and charged down. Settled thereafter but not the statement showing he’d have liked.”
CONTINUES ON PAGE TWO
The post Brian Moore has not held back with his savage assessment of Steve Borthwick after England’s latest defeat appeared first on Ruck.
