After England’s Rugby World Cup exit, Matt Dawson cautioned the manager against making an Eddie Jones mistake.
Rugby World Cup champion Matt Dawson has warned Steve Borthwick not to make the same error that Eddie Jones did after England’s loss to South Africa.
After England’s painful loss to South Africa in the semi-final on Saturday, Rugby World Cup winner Matt Dawson has offered England head coach Steve Borthwick some advise and cautioned him against replicating Eddie Jones’ mistakes. Prior to Borthwick, Jones held the top position but was fired less than a year ago. Later, he led Australia to a humiliating pool-stage elimination in France.
To prepare for the Springbok, Borthwick made three changes to his team from the one that defeated Fiji in the quarterfinals, but Dawson thinks that going ahead, there should be more “consistency in selection.” He urged the former manager of the Leicester Tigers to remain confident in the team’s older players and avoid making the same mistake as his predecessor by remaining with a stable lineup.
“My perspective is clear. At either end of the age spectrum, if you are good enough, you are good enough, Dawson wrote for the BBC. “Push the elder players with the help of the younger ones. Use the more experienced players to impart their knowledge to the younger ones. Together, the rivalry and tension help propel
“The method by which we introduce players into the setup must differ instead. Eddie Jones, the previous coach to Steve Borthwick, would frequently bring players in and out. The selecting process was inconsistent. There was no opportunity to create a team and its structures.
One of Borthwick’s most significant adjustments was to replace Ollie Chessum in the second row, breaking up the combination between Maro Itoje and him. Martin, however, was among the top performers who came up just short as Handre Pollard’s late penalty shattered England’s hearts and secured the Springboks’ spot in Saturday’s championship game against New Zealand.
Prior to the Six Nations tournament in 2019, Dawson has identified three areas where Borthwick can make changes. He is focusing on the competition in the second row, the hooker who can take on Jamie George, and the playmakers who can support at scrum-half.
“If either George Martin or Ollie Chessum is Borthwick’s man in the second row, he has to show some faith and give them a concerted run of games,” Dawson continued.
There are things to consider. Are Jack Walker and Theo Dan the ones pushing Jamie George? Behind Jack van Poortvliet and Alex Mitchell, who are the scrum-halves?
Leave a Reply