Lack of clear thinking over central issue highlights why change is needed at the top of English rugby

Bad move: Jonathan Joseph was not as effective on the wing against the Aussies
(Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
Chris Jones5 October 2015

It was entirely appropriate that the defeat which ended England’s World Cup highlighted the midfield nightmare that has been a feature of Stuart Lancaster’s reign.

With England needing a miracle as they returned for the second half against Australia on Saturday, Jonathan Joseph had to be shifted out to the left wing after Jonny May went off injured. It was a move born out of a ludicrous selection problem created by England’s coaches, who insisted Sam Burgess could be a force in the tournament.

With Burgess on the replacements’ bench and unable to play on the wing, it meant Joseph — the team’s main attacking weapon — was moved, George Ford came on to play fly-half, Owen Farrell went to No12, forcing Brad Barritt into the No13 role he does not suit.

If Jack Nowell had been a replacement he could have covered full-back, both wings and outside-centre. But that would have meant leaving Burgess out of the match-23 — something Lancaster and his coaches would not contemplate as it meant they really had made a major error choosing the former rugby league star ahead of Luther Burrell. Burgess did eventually appear but could not stop England losing.

The fact we are still talking about the midfield is a testament to the management’s failure to find the right combination during nearly four years of trying. It is the most obvious example of the muddled thinking that has conspired to see England become the first hosts not to make the knock-out stages.

Lancaster has used a staggering 14 different centre combinations in his 45 Tests. For any nation to consistently impress on the world stage, they need an effective midfield combination — think Will Carling and Jeremy Guscott or Ma’a Nonu and Conrad Smith. Under Lancaster, England have constantly chopped and changed both their No12 and No13s through a combination of injury and bad luck. Barritt and Manu Tuilagi have spent longer in the midfield positions under Lancaster than any other duo with 11 Tests.

The next best combinations are Billy Twelvetrees and Burrell (six) and Joseph and Burrell (six).

Tuilagi is not available due to his conviction for assault while Lancaster chose to ignore Burrell, Twelvetrees and Kyle Eastmond and make Barritt and Joseph his first-choice pairing backed up by the untried duo of Burgess and Henry Slade. This meant that when Joseph was injured against Fiji, rather than drafting in the Test experience of Burrell or Twelvetrees, England had to take a punt on Burgess.

(ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/Getty Images)

Against Wales, England had to rely on an untried midfield for what, at that point, was their biggest game of the World Cup — and the biggest game of Lancaster’s reign. As the head coach had failed to identify first, second and third options in case of injury, England had to fundamentally change the way they played. With Joseph sidelined, they dropped Ford — the fulcrum of their attacking game — for Owen Farrell, moved Barritt out to the unfamiliar No13 role and brought in Burgess. Three changes to cater for one injury. If Burrell had not been inexplicably left out of the final 31-man squad, he would have been picked as the No13. Instead, Lancaster completely switched tactics, opting for a narrow attacking vision which appeared to be shaped by their concerns over the running power of Wales. Therefore, when Ford came on for Burgess in the second half of that match, it was to give the team a second kicking option rather than to utilise the running plays that had been created in training.

Against Australia, Ford arrived with the task of moving the ball through the hands with the multi-phase play that has always been his chosen tactic. Two games, two different assignments for the same player. Ford sums up the problems that have undermined England, whose muddled midfield thinking epitomises what is so wrong with the regime. It is time to bring this to an end.

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