Will Carling thinks 'brutal honesty' is needed in the England camp
Tuesday 29 September 2015 14:52, UK
Former captain Will Carling says there is more to being a fan than 'going 'rah-rah England' with your eyes closed'.
Carling criticised the decision-making and coaching environment after England lost to Wales on Saturday, a damaging defeat which leaves them facing elimination from the tournament they are hosting if they fail to beat Australia on Saturday.
Carling's remarks have not been well received within the England camp and scrum-half Richard Wigglesworth was particularly contemptuous.
Carling, who captained England to the 1991 World Cup final, has responded with a video clip which he posted on his Twitter feed.
"Some of the coaches feel that, if you criticise, you're not a supporter, but I don't believe that," said Carling.
"I don't believe that going 'rah-rah England' with your eyes closed means you're a great England supporter. The players and coaches have to be honest with each other.
"I know Richard Wigglesworth has said what the hell do I know about rugby and he's got a point because I'm an old fart.
"But one of the things we did do was invest a huge amount of time, effort and emotion into learning the lessons of what we got wrong. And we got a lot wrong against Wales.
"Therefore, the players and coaches have to be brutally honest with each other, because that is how you get a team to be successful, not by ignoring serious issues. If we ignore the faults, ignore what went wrong, we'll be very vulnerable.
"So I'm hoping some honest, brutal conversations will have taken place early in the week, then there will be a focus on Australia and reminding ourselves how good some of our players are and how well they have played.
"If we did that, I think we'll witness a great performance against Australia and a great win."
