England should keep faith with Lancaster
ENGLAND UNITED UNDER LANCASTER
After defeat against Wales, England coach Stuart Lancaster may need to claim the scalp of either Ireland or France to advance his chances of keeping his job beyond the Six Nations, but I hope the powers that be take note of the rapid improvement in this team since the World Cup.
It would be incredibly harsh on Lancaster, who has instilled belief, pride and a togetherness in this group of players, if he were to be cast aside after the tournament.
The players clearly respect him and personally, at the very least, I’d like to see him retained in a senior capacity if the Rugby Football Union were to look elsewhere for a permanent successor to Martin Johnson.
DEFEAT THE BEST WAY TO LEARN
I don’t like harping back to the World Cup winning side of 2003 but the confidence and trust we developed as a team was generated over a long period of time.
The journey we went through as a group certainly had its darker moments and this current England unit, as well as Lancaster himself, will learn more from Saturday’s defeat than anything they picked up in a couple of narrow victories over Scotland and Italy.
Technically, England lost at Twickenham because they had to rely on turnover ball while Wales dominated possession and generated phase after phase. England are likely to find themselves in a similar position when they travel to France next month and it will be interesting to see whether they will have learned to manage the game better in what are likely to be even more trying conditions
TUILAGI PROVIDES THE BALANCE
With both Toby Flood and Charlie Hodgson likely to be available for selection against France, Lancaster faces some difficult decisions to make where his back division is concerned.
Whoever he calls upon to play at No10, apart from a couple of kicking errors, Owen Farrell did little wrong in that position on Saturday, and the coach must find room for Manu Tuilagi at centre.
The Leicester man enjoyed a magnificent afternoon, and only an incredible tackle from Sam Warburton prevented him from adding the try that his performance merited.
Brad Barritt, built in very much the same mould as Tuilagi, enjoyed a reputation-enhancing afternoon as well, dispelling any notion that the two players were too similar to line up together.
Who starts against France and the composition of the three-quarters represents a tricky conundrum for Lancaster, but Tuilagi is rapidly becoming the first name on the England team sheet.
Josh Lewsey was speaking courtesy of GamePlan Solutions: Managing high profile and popular sport stars; speakers, leaders, motivators, ambassadors www.gameplansolutions.co.uk