Exclusive: Lawrence Dallaglio’s England report card

Adam Kyriacou
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Lawrence Dallaglio believes England head coach Eddie Jones will be eager to silence his critics after their Autumn Nations Cup win was blighted by suggestions they were not adopting an attractive style of rugby.

England beat France in thrilling fashion to lift the trophy at Twickenham last Sunday, yet the negativity around the performances in recent weeks inspired Jones to suggest critics of his side were ‘disrespectful’.

Now former England captain Dallaglio has given his verdict, as he spoke to Planet Rugby at a BT Sport event ahead of the return of the Champions Cup this weekend.

Results matter

“This is a tough one,” he admitted when we asked him about England’s tactical approach. “If you are inside the camp and you are winning, it is all about getting the right result as a player of a coach. The fans might have a different view but results matter.

“England have played alright over the last 12 months and the challenge for everyone when we watch England is we know what they are capable of.

“There have been some pretty exciting performances, particularly away in Ireland and in Yokohama against New Zealand in the World Cup.

“When you see the standards of those performances and what the players are capable of, what has been served up over the Autumn Nations Cup has been a long way away from that, which is where the disappointment lies.

“Equally, this is a team that knows how to win and they are winning trophies.

“The style is not for everyone and I appreciate that can be tough for the fans, but the end result is England won the tournament.”

Dallaglio believes the physicality of the French side was a problem for England, as he believes Jones will spend the next few months devising fresh plans ahead of the next Six Nations campaign.

“The challenge for this England team is when they get matched physically, as they were against France in Paris and last weekend, then they have to understand how to win a game,” he added.

“Maybe that is something Eddie has to evolve in the team and the players need to have an input into that as well. The best players challenge the coaches and the coaches challenge the players.

“I’m not going to sit here and criticise the boys for the way they played because I was a part of some performances that would have inspired you to switch off at half-time.

“Equally, England need to work out what they do when they are beaten in a physical battle. That can happen in any game of rugby and the best teams think a way around opponents in a different way. That will be eating away at Eddie.

“I’m sure he will come back with something, a bit of innovation. I’d like to have seen a few things thrown into the France game to surprise them and that is what Eddie will the thinking about before the next round of internationals.”

Watch every single Heineken Champions Cup fixture live on BT Sport, starting with Northampton Saints v Bordeaux Begles on Friday, December 11 from 5pm on BT Sport 2

by Kevin Palmer

 

England