Tuesday 21 July 2015 10:14, UK
Former England captain Will Carling has warned England against getting caught between two game plans ahead of the World Cup.
England have traditionally found success with a dominant set of forwards and a kicking fly-half, but in the last few months appear to have unearthed a more attacking style thanks to the promotion of several creative players through the ranks.
The style has drawn critics and advocates; some prefer the pragmatic approach while others are eager to usher in a new, expansive era.
Though Carling agrees there are merits to both, he warned England against failing to settle on a style before the World Cup.
"I think it's thrown their preparations slightly," said Carling. "In the sense that they were very fixed on a way of playing and two of the pillars for that were Owen Farrell and Manu Tuilagi.
"Now George Ford has come along and been sensational, so has Jonathan Joseph, and suddenly they have options to play a game they probably weren't prepared to play a year or 18 months ago.
"The danger for England is that they don't get caught, or stuck, between two stalls. It's got to be one or the other.
The retired centre is confident that the men assigned with fighting for the ball at the set piece during the World Cup won’t struggle, but indicates it could be the success or failure of the loose forwards that dictates England’s fortune in the tournament.
Carling said: "As usual with England they've got a great front five – in fact they've probably got two great front fives if we're honest – who will be as good if not slightly better than anything else in the competition.
"The brutal honesty is that our back-row; you wouldn't have it as one of the best in the world, whereas you would with the front five.
"If you look at the pack of 2003, they were the best pack in the world.
"With England now, I'm not sure that at the breakdown they will dominate sides the way that they did in 2003.
"So there's the big conundrum. Do they need a little more variety in their game in order to win, or could they rely purely on a Farrell plus a forward pack? That's the big question."
One of the members of England’s back-row is Chris Robshaw, who captained his country in the No 7 jersey during the Six Nations earlier this year.
His place in the side has been questioned by those who feel that Toulon flanker Steffon Armitage has done enough to warrant selection under Lancaster’s ‘extenuating circumstances’ clause in selecting overseas players.
Carling said that for Lancaster to pick Robshaw he had to do so with the belief that the Harlequins flanker is the best man for the job, and that the captaincy was a result of his selection, and not his selection a result of being captain.
"Your captain has to be good enough to be in the team on playing merit, and then he's a captain," said Carling at Heineken's ambassador launch.
Your captain has to be good enough to be in the team on playing merit, and then he's a captain.
"I think there are teams that, whether that's cricket or rugby, suffer when they try to keep a guy in because they think he's an exceptional leader.
"First and foremost, for the credibility of the captain and for the belief of all the players, you walk out with the best team and one of them happens to be your captain.
"I do think there is still far too much emphasis put on the captain. You need four, five or six leaders out on the pitch. That's what makes a team special, not one guy.
"But all of those five or six have got to be good enough to be in that team."
When England first hosted the World Cup in 1991 it was Carling who led his country all the way to the final, where they were beaten 12-6 by Australia.
Though England shared the hosting duties with the other four countries participating in the Five Nations as it was then, the final was played at Twickenham in front of fervent home support, and Carling is expecting even more fanfare at this year’s showpiece.
"This World Cup will be so much bigger than 1991. The excitement, the build-up and the tension is already phenomenal," he said.
"From an England point of view it's magnified even more by the fact that they're in a group where there's a genuine prospect that they might not get out of that group. That doesn't really happen for the big seeds.
"So suddenly the intensity, focus and excitement will be from the very beginning."
Carling says that England need to get the balance right when it comes to getting immersed in and getting away from the intense scrutiny.
"They must enjoy the fact that they've got a huge amount of support, but also make sure that they understand there's a time to switch on and be intense, and there's a time to switch off and get away from it.
"Chris Robshaw, the senior players and coaches have got to make sure that in their plan there's plenty of times where they just get away from it.
"They've got to have that, because you can't sustain the intensity you need for seven weeks."
Will Carling is a Heineken© rugby legend. As Rugby World Cup 2015 Worldwide partner, Heineken is bringing you closer to the action, find out more at @Heineken #itsyourcall
