“England is a legend in world rugby. Fabien Galthié is not afraid of insistence. The Blues’ coach, who gets lost in lame rhetoric as soon as the microphone is pressed, will soon move past Namibia and Uruguay, the two opponents who will appear in the Tricolor Cup at the next World Cup (September 8 – October 28, 2023). ) great mountains, impassable summits. If the XV of the Roses that takes on France’s XV in its Twickenham den on Saturday (5:45pm) is a giant, it is a sleeping giant, even in a coma.
Rather than the scores and statistics that consign the men in white to the ranks of the anonymous and the unremarkable, their play in recent seasons radiates a blandness and sadness to the Blues’ most fervent supporters. “Since 2019 and their World Cup finals, in their half (19-7 win against New Zealand) they missed the final (32-12 loss), they look like they are stagnating in the level of play, underlines Dimitri Yachvili, the former international scrum-half now with France. is a consultant to Televisions. They stayed in the Eddie Jones years, with a great deal of success and aggression, with a lot of pragmatism. We don’t see any change in the launches of sports, particularly noticeable among the Irish, Scottish, French or even Italians. »
“Loss of Faith”
After two particularly poor editions of the tournament in 2021 and 2022, each time, only two wins in five games, and the last autumn tour was sunk with a historic defeat (29-30) against Argentina at Twickenham. A lucky draw against South Africa (13-27) and the All Blacks (25-25) saw the sacking of Australian coach Eddie Jones at the start of 2016. His successor, Steve Borthwick, knows all the trouble in the world to set the bar straight. An opening defeat at home to the Scots (23-29) was not erased by two emphatic wins against Italy (31-14) and Wales (10-20).
“We initially thought there was a psychological reason for the slump after the World Cup in Japan,” explained former England third-row international Richard Poole-Jones, who will be at Twickenham on Saturday as a consultant to RMC. .There is also a Saracens effect (the no.1 club in England was relegated to a division in June 2020 due to lack of funds). World-class players like Owen Farrell or Maro Itoje suffered and did not perform at their best. »
A deficit of 340 million euros for English clubs
Even today they pull each other. The small opener will be dropped to the bench against the Blues in favor of youngster Marcus Smith (24). Financial setbacks did not affect Saracens alone. This season, two Premier League clubs, Worcester and Wasps, which were disbanded last October, have been forced to release their professional players. Over the past six years, the deficit for all Premiership clubs (there were 12 until this season) is estimated at almost €340 million.
Richard Poole-Jones says: “We are well aware that rugby clubs in England cannot make a profit like in France. The problem with the English is that, unlike the top 14, they don’t have financial control (DNACG) every season. So the deficits are increasing. But what about English rugby? Not much to worry about. Twickenham Stadium, which is a confederation property, generates a lot of receipts, inquiries are good. Wages should probably be reduced a little, but the situation cannot be compared to what is happening in New Zealand, Australia or South Africa. »
Since an exit to the top 14 cannot be ruled out, having already started with disbanded clubs, the confederation is looking for solutions to retain international players who are not playing in a truly peaceful environment. “The England team is not confident, but beware, in a match, anything is possible, smiled Poole-Jones. It will be tight. Then, the French are not as dominant as last year. »
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