kybone says...

Robshaw may have an ulterior motive for calling for SL to be given the job, but then again he's not on his own in calling for SL to get the job!

Posted 15:31 13th March 2012

kybone says...

NHsaints im pretty sure we won the Calcutta Cup last year actually. We only lost to Ireland. I do agree that SL has done a great job and i can't believe that some are still suggesting that he doesn't deserve the job full time.

Posted 19:18 12th March 2012

NHsaints says...

People question what lancaster has done? He's made a team (in no time at all) that has wrestled the calcutta cup from scotland for the first time since pre 2008, maintained the record of having never been beaten by italy (the only 6nations team to have done so) and on a flattering scoreline for italy where 2 oppertunistic tries shouldn't really have happened and where our first 3 points should have been 7 (had the ref played advantage), matched the likely grandslam champions for 80 minutes and possibly should have beaten them if we'd taken our chances and beaten France away from home (their first home defeat in 18 games there) and claimed our first ever 3 away wins in the six nations. Now what we need is for him to compound our away record by beating Ireland fairly convincingly and claiming our first home win (then turning twickenham back into a fortress is the next challenge)

Posted 17:33 12th March 2012

kybone says...

Frooschman from my point of view he has done a very good job. Like you say he's not provided any magic, but he has provided us with the steel to win games. Just look at the table. With a game still to go we've already won more games than everyone thought we would. Yes a lot of the things that SL has done seemed obvious to everyone, but these were the things which needed doing, so what else did you want him to do?? The team selection has been good. SL had the bottle to realise that he got it slightly wrong initially and changed things ( bringing in morgan and dickson). We've now got a great base to build from and with the players that will come through over the next few seasons i see no reason why we can't be a team with a chance at the 2015 World Cup. The only thing which i would criticise SL for is his selection of Stevens but he has only been in charge for 4 games.He has got to give players a few games to find some form instead of doing the Liervremont thing of discarding players after one bad game then bringing them back in when he realises he needs them for a big game. All in all i don't think anyone else could have done a better job. Add to this the fact that all the other candidates seem to be foreign, surely SL being English puts him ahead of his competition.

Posted 15:05 12th March 2012

Frooschman says...

I'm struggling with the question of Lancaster or Mallet and indeed with the furore surrounding Lancaster in general.

What has he actually done? I mean, in the cold light of day, what has he really achieved? It appears to me that he has merely taken England back to the base line of performance which we should expect of any international team i.e. pride in the shirt, playing as a team, strong defence and discipline (occasionally). And that he has achieved this by picking the players in form (with some nod towards experience and combinations), taking a no-nonsense approach to transgressors and taking the team back to basics (at least emotionally - reconnecting with grass roots for example).

Now this is all well and good, and it has been sufficient to beat a Scotland side that can't win for love nor money, an Italian side without a kicker and a French side who were god-awful for the first ... hour? But what else? Yes we lived with Wales for eighty minutes. But ultimately lost. At home. I don't like being a wet blanket but are the achievements really worthy of the plaudits? What would a top three team have done to us on each of those occasions - and yes, I know the arguments about rebuilding!

My main concern is that Lancaster hasn't done anything special. If you'd taken a poll of England fans on this site 95% could've come up with the above list of targets and how to meet them. But there's been no hint of magic - nothing to make me believe that if he took charge he could take this team beyond the bare minimum to the heights needed to win in 2015. Does he have that anywhere in his record? I honestly don't know.

Maybe we had fallen so far by the end of the world cup that merely dragging this team back up the bare minimum standard is worthy of the plaudits. But is it enough? I'm not sure. I'd love to see something against the Irish to convince me.

Posted 14:07 12th March 2012

JamieTheProp says...

It absolutely has to be Lancaster. Even if we lose to the Irish next week (and I have seen nothing in the Irish performances that suggests they are the heavy favourites) we'll have won 3 of the 5 games and competed well in the others (against sides vastly more experienced than we are).

The RFU would have to be even more mad than usual to appoint anyone else - they must know what 99% of fans want and must give it to them.

The good thing is that the selection committee isn't just Andrew and his cronies - there are decent rugby people there from the Premiership clubs who know what they are talking about - so we do have a chance that the right decision will be made!

Posted 12:41 12th March 2012

jehosophat says...

I'm another one that wanted a figure like Jake White or Mallett in charge - both good guys that I think would have the right approach to work within the England setup. I also thought perhaps a non-English coach would give a different perspective and not be in the "old boys club" with some of the players, like MJ was. My ideal would still be Mallett as team manager, Lancaster as coach, Rob Andrew (for being - along with MJ - far too conservative) in the job centre.

But now I am starting to think SL should be given the whole job. Generally, in all sports, I like the idea of a proven coach in a coaching role regardless of whether he played at international level himself. Playing and coaching are different, and a lot of talented players can't coach for toffee. With the highly successful Saxons side, and now England, SL has really made a difference with some bold decisions, not just sticking with the status quo and crossing his fingers like MJ did ( who, with zero coaching experience, was always going to be a disaster unless he coached clubs first - and was good at it).

/cynical mode on/ - Robshaw would want SL to keep the job, he may well not be in the side if someone else came in!

Posted 12:16 12th March 2012

Welshy says...

Makes absolute sense as he has turned the team around in a matter of 2 months or so.Imagine what he could do if given time and stability in which to do it. However, it is the RFU we are talking about so don't be surprised if David Campese or someone equally off the wall is given the job.

Posted 11:32 12th March 2012

heart_of_oak says...

I had said in an earlier post that I wanted SL to be the next coach but to work in conjunction with another coach who has more experience at top level. But most experienced coaches who might have been in the running have now ruled themselves out. I think only Nick Mallett remains in the frame.

However, I think I have to eat humble pie.

It seems to me that SL is going in the right direction with England and we should give him the opportunity to take the rebuilding process further.

On a different, yet much overmentioned theme, we're still getting lots of morons posting about the England team including non English players and other rubbish in a similar vein. And on this theme, may I make a suggestion to Planet Rugby ? Why not create a special link that all the England haters can use to post their repetitive and predictable moans. In this way, we can keep most threads relevant and worthwhile. If an "England hater" comment ends up where it isn't wanted, all PR have to do is to move it to the England haters page. All the sad morons with chips on their shoulders can go to this page where they can all moan to their hearts' content and the rest of us won't have to read it if we don't want to.

Posted 10:39 12th March 2012