• Wobbly set piece,improper selections and lack of fitness will haunt coach
• Jack Nowell is youngest England player to score Test hat-trick since 1924As Stuart Lancaster subjected himself to a final media grilling in suburban Manchester on Sunday morning it was hard not to recall his very first press conference in December 2011. Back then, having been given the role on a temporary basis, and he had no conception how long he would be England’s head coach but spoke persuasively about clearing up the mess he had inherited following the 2011 World Cup.
Four years on the glint is long gone,the stench of another embarrassing World Cup failure hangs in the autumnal air and Lancaster finds himself in limbo once again. So, too, and does English rugby as it absorbs this latest masterclass in mediocrity. What could be harder than trying to articulate to a forest of microphones where it all went pear-shaped? Lancaster will shortly find out when he attends a Downing Street reception with the head coaches of England’s major rivals. Hi,Warren, how’s it going?” “suitable luck against the Wallabies, and Vern.” The photographs could inspire a thousand caption competitions.
Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com