England’s Controversial Rugby World Cup
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October 11, 2011 TheFreshOutlook  |
The England rugby team have been involved in controversy during the 2011 World Cup but has it affected their performance?
Of the eight possible issues, two of them can be separated from the rest. These are the Courtney Lawes ban for kneeing Mario Ledesma in the head and Delon Armitage’s high tackle. These issues were dealt with by the IRB disciplinary boards and the correct punishments were handed out swiftly, suggesting that these two events cannot be blamed on bad management.
The major problems with the England team involved their antics off the pitch, which started on September 11 when Captain Mike Tindal was caught on a night out with his teammates drinking and allegedly flirting with a woman who was not wife Zara Phillips.
This was then followed by a ball switching scandal where Dave Alred and Paul Stridegon were suspended, some alleged lewd comments to hotel staff by three players and Manu being Tuilagi warned by police for jumping off a ferry in Auckland.
The players in an international rugby team are mature adults who know that they represent their nation on the world stage at this tournament; they are celebrities for at least this two-month period every four years.
If anything, it is the players’ fault and not the management, as they cannot control their team like a dictatorship. The players know that if they say something or do something inappropriate it will reflect badly on the team, so it is their responsibility not to do it.
With regards to the coverage of the Mike Tindal saga, is there any need for player to drink alcohol during such an important tournament? This is possibly the most important eight weeks period of their life, surely they can find other ways to relax and have fun. The drinking of alcohol must affect a player’s fitness, so why not just avoid it completely?
The other issues involving lewd comments and ferry jumping are acts of individuals that bring shame on the team and nation. These players are respected athletes who people aspire to. During the World Cup they are the most watched people on the planet and there is no need for immature behaviour.
These issues will affect the game on the pitch, which certainly seems to be the case with England; they exited the World Cup in the quarter finals looking ragged and ordinary. If the players have problems off the pitch, how can they then be expected to leave them on the sidelines?
Obviously, management are to blame for the ball switching issue; it was an idiotic decision by the coaching staff and the fact that it happened amidst the rest of these events did not help to improve the public’s perception of the England team. During a World Cup campaign, morale needs to be high and the increasingly negative press coverage must have had an effect.
If morale is low then this will almost certainly affect the team’s performance on the pitch, therefore the management must take some responsibility for their part in the ball-switching episode as this contributed to the negative perception of the team.
However, the England management team can only take part of the blame for the controversial issues surrounding the team, and at some point the players have to show maturity and realise that they are responsible for their own decisions and be aware of the impact the consequences of these decisions could have on the game.
By Jonathan Davies
[Image courtesy of Synthetic Turf Management (STM)]
Nice to see you using our image. We have a longstanding relationship with Twickenham and England Rugby. The England Rose logo with the black backing was manufactured especially for our client Nike as part of England’s warm up games before the Rugby World Cup 2011.
You might be more familiar with the England Rose Rugby logo with the white backing in front of the tunnel. You will also see our work around the pitch at Twickenham and outside parking areas.