England have been a very poor side since the Cup-winning team of 2003 fell apart at the seams through exhaustion... Consider that team; Woodman, Thompson, Johnson, Back, Dawson, Greenwood and Leonard have all retired; Wilkinson and Hill have barely played since then through injury; and the reality is that English rugby just doesn't have the same calibre of players coming through to replace them... why else would we still have old boys like Dallaglio and Robinson in the line-up? These were magnificent, world-class, world-beating players in their day; but their day was 4 years ago, and it disappoints me that we are so bereft of options that they cannot be replaced in 2007...
So, I watched England struggle against that mighty powerhouse of a rugby nation, USA and I read the headline "Ashton bemused by England display". The BBC article goes on to explain...
"The last 20 minutes were very disappointing from our point of view. England coach Brian Ashton was at a loss to explain his side's dismal display in their World Cup opener against the USA in Lens"
The way I read this, the man charged with the sole responsibility of guiding England to become the first nation to retain the William Webb Ellis trophy said "we were rubbish... not too sure why..."
As an England fan, I have long since conditioned myself to face the cold truth: We are *not* going to win this competition; but I sincerely hope that somebody (based on the above, probably not Brian Ashton) provides direction and strong leadership for a national team that has been for too long in disarray. With any luck, we might actually produce a squad that can challenge for the 2011 trophy in NZ (Assuming they ever sort the stadium out; but that's another story...)
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