A backward step for English rugby?

Being an English rugby fan has always been a bit of a rollercoaster. From game to game, the team’s performances can provoke dizzying elation or gut-wrenching despair, with consecutive performances often differing so widely that it’s hard to believe you’re watching the same team.

The experience of watching England slump to a 19-9 defeat against Wales in Cardiff definitely fell into the gut-wrenching despair category. Or perhaps despair is too strong a word: a more accurate description might be frustration. At times in the past year or so, England have shown glimpses of real flair and ambition, and what’s more, of clinical execution. Sadly, those glimpses have been all too rare, and on Saturday they were almost entirely absent. What we got instead was a reminder of why it’s best to clear the area of breakable objects before watching England play, just in case you feel tempted to hurl them at the TV.

Put simply, England were impotent. Their forwards dominated at the set piece but didn’t have the control to finish off the chances they created, while the back line lacked any creative spark. Take nothing away from Wales, who defended manfully and took their chances well, but England looked clueless in attack and, perhaps more worryingly, were also exposed in defence. Afterwards, Martin Johnson admitted there were things to work on, but it will take more than head-scratching and beard-stroking to make England a force in New Zealand.

Which is not to say that it’s impossible. We should consider the mitigating circumstances which, although they cannot excuse, can at least help to account for England’s poor performance in Cardiff. One is the sheer scale of the personnel changes made between the Twickenham match and the return fixture. No fewer than thirteen changes were made to England’s starting line-up, with only Alex Corbisiero and Matt Banahan retaining their places. It’s hard to achieve consistent results when there’s such inconsistency in terms of selection. England have also been hampered by injuries, most recently to Danny Care, although of course they’re far from unusual in this.

Several factors should also help boost England in the days and weeks ahead. One of the most important is the expected recovery of injured trio Andrew Sheridan, Lewis Moody and Ben Youngs, all surely set for a place in the squad. Another is that, as long-suffering England fans are well aware, a week is a long time in rugby. A good performance against Ireland in Dublin next weekend will see England head off to the World Cup full of confidence, with Saturday’s abject display all but forgotten. But then again, another poor display would see many write off their chances before the tournament’s even begun.

That’s perhaps the most frustrating thing about this England side: you just never know. And in a World Cup, inconsistency can be a fatal weakness. We’ll just have to hope the right England team turns up on the day. And hide anything fragile, just in case.