The board of score may occasionally only show a small portion of a larger narrative. The UK has performed poorly this Fall and is on track to have their most disastrous year in the last ten. As evidenced – the English lost 27-13 on Saturday to South Africa. The latter was noticeably superior.
The reaction of the fans
The boos at the final whistle, the percentage of early-leavers, and the scathing online assessments were ultimately the best indicators of English rugby’s current situation. But the fact that England was defeated in several high-level rugby games is not their biggest issue.
More important is that they are quickly worsening the trust of their country. With the World Cup only five competitive games away, anyone who could see, whether on the pitch, in the stadium or on an armchair in the living room, could witness that the team has come to a grinding halt.
It would be a disservice to the uprising level of issues, yet crashing at the UK rugby association to simply place the blame for Eddie Jones alone.
Jones observes the UK athletes as they limber up
The RFU is investigating Eddie Jones in light of UK’s poor Fall performance. Even before these past few discouraging days, Bill Sweeney, the chief executive of the RFU, had a full in-tray: a home match in a funding crisis, a sharp decrease in fully grown men involvement, injury fears, a sulky performance and a change in the main trainer.
To worsen it all, the world’s largest union may be in danger of losing sight of its most prized possession: the bond that connects amateur players to the rugby elite, and more specifically, England teams’ capacity to enthrall and excite fans of all ages.
It makes sense that Sweeney’s succinct statement, that results were not where they expected them to be from Sunday lunchtime, suggested a more critical than ordinary after-match evaluation.
If one excluded the final 9 minutes in a game with the New Zealand team and a spurt of goals in a match with the Japanese, the UK has seen scowling last-year pupils struggling with the introduction to a difficult dissertation.
No squad seems good when their main leaders feel destroyed, as Jones noted with accuracy. Even so, there is a growing disparity among the English drab rugby and the extent of gaming options available to them.
