England Rugby

Going from sturdy tournament contenders to potential implosion, 2015 Rugby World Cup hosts England could find themselves at risk of self-destruction unless the recent trend of indiscipline is brought into check.

After ESPN Scrum reported that fly-half Danny Cipriani had been arrested in the early hours of Monday morning under suspicion of drink-driving, coach Stuart Lancaster has yet more unwelcome news to contend with.

The news comes not long after Manu Tuilagi was ruled out of the World Cup, having pleaded guilty to the assault of two police officers, followed by Dylan Hartley's exodus due to his latest suspension.

As ex-England prop David Flatman points out, Cipriani is of course innocent until proven guilty, but the 27-year-old's World Cup hopes would most likely be over if found guilty, especially considering his muddy past:

It's the last thing a team needs when attempting to get ready for the biggest spectacle this sport has to offer and even more so when it's your nation the world's eye is descending upon as hosts.

Cipriani was one of the star players on Sunday as an England XV rampaged to a 73-12 hiding of the Barbarians at Twickenham, with the Press Association showing just how proud Lancaster was of his playmaker:

The old adage goes that rugby is a thug's game played by gentlemen, but the truth is that these recent indiscretions of England internationals leaves that ideology in some shade of doubt.

Hartley's head-butt on Saracens' Jamie George certainly fits the bill of thug and the same can assuredly be said of Tuilagi, who grabbed a taxi driver by the throat before moving on to two female police officers, per the Telegraph's Gavin Mairs.

It brings into serious doubt just how high the Rugby World Cup ranks in the minds of these "professionals," who would undoubtedly admit it is the pinnacle of the sport and are yet so willing to jeopardise their involvement.

Former wing Ben Cohen was another ex-England player to chime in on the recent string of controversies, labelling it as "stupid" and "crazy" to commit such acts this close to what's a once-in-a-lifetime occasion:

Considering it sits as one of the most physical trades in the sports industry, blood boiling over on the rugby pitch is perhaps the one over-stepping that could be forgiven, but Hartley has crossed the line too many times.

Tuilagi and Cipriani—if found guilty—on the other hand, have nowhere to hide from their actions. Putting their responsibility as professional sportsmen to one side, however momentarily, acts of ludicrous behaviour have left their team terribly short-handed.

It's not as if either player are any small losses. Despite the emergence of Bath's Jonathan Joseph as a potential superstar of Lancaster's squad, the whole of England was looking forward to perhaps finally seeing a fully fit Tuilagi back in the centre.

The same might be said of Hartley, who has been a crucial component for Northampton Saints during their rise in recent years and can be qualified as a world-class asset on his given day.

The irony of course is that Hartley may have head-butted the very man now in prime position to take his World Cup place, with George majorly impressing en route to Saracens' second Premiership title win:

The culture of manic behaviour going hand in hand with rugby—or at least certain players in particular—is a well-known occurrence after what unfolded at the last World Cup in New Zealand four years ago.

Then-England captain Mike Tindall was embroiled in drama after a bizarre dwarf-throwing incident in Queenstown, while Tuilagi was in the headlines for jumping off an Auckland ferry following the team's quarter-final exit at the hands of France:

Those kind of stories will never be seen as acceptable to a disciplinarian like Lancaster, whether during a tournament or four years prior; the fact this is all coming about in the months building up to RWC 2015 simply makes it all the worse.

In order to stop the likes of New Zealand and Ireland, England will most definitely need a squad boasting a clean bill of health and with options in all areas—after all, this is the team that raised so many hopes at the Six Nations.

However, losing players to such avoidable circumstances is a deplorable crime perhaps not just attributable to the players themselves, but also the coaching staff and those who should be able to shepherd a more mature group.

So far, we've yet to hear nearly as much fuss from south of the equator regarding player absences, most likely because the 2015 Rugby World Cup is simply too important to their players to risk exclusion.

The recent spike in England's indiscipline is nothing completely new to their ranks, but this slew of very avoidable incidents calls into question just how serious players are about making a World Cup impact.

England served up an emphatic indication of their strength in depth ahead of the World Cup, crushing the Barbarians 73-12 at Twickenham.

Marland Yarde put England ahead early on before Brad Thorn responded. But the hosts took over, with tries from Ed Slater, Jack Clifford and Danny Cipriani and a brace from Christian Wade propelling the Three Lions into a 45-5 lead at the interval.

After the interval, Henry Slade and Josh Beaumont added tries, Wade completed his hat-trick and Cipriani finished the scoring with another try; he totted up a staggering 33 points in the match. Thomas Waldrom scored the Barbarians' only other try at the start of the second half.

Ahead of the match, England head coach Stuart Lancaster encouraged those involved in this encounter to make a major impression with the summer showpiece edging ever closer, per Wasps.co.uk:

This is an exciting group who will be eager to impress in an England shirt with a number of guys having one eye on the World Cup in September.

We know the Barbarians have a large number of experienced guys and they will be ready for us having played Ireland. We are expecting a tough encounter.

They were words that seemed to be heeded from the off, as the hosts played with an encouraging effervescence. It took just 11 minutes for Yarde to put England in front, and although Thorn reduced the deficit to 7-5 a couple of minutes later, for the Baa-Baas, the hosts clearly had too much.

England went on to score five tries in the space of 18 ferocious minutes at the end of the first period. Slater set Lancaster’s men on their way after some brilliant work in the lineout, before Clifford capitalised on more pressure to push the score on to 24-5.

In addition to his try, young Clifford was enjoying an excellent game, as the team’s official Twitter account noted:

There was more punishment to come for the Baa-Baas, as they struggled to contain an incisive England, particularly Wade. The winger was on hand to add the finishing touches to a pair of excellent moves in the 31st and 35th minute; by this point, the Barbarians were in survival mode, with the score at 38-5.

As noted by O2 Sports, with Wade running riot, things were getting a little lopsided:

Before half-time, Cipriani, who had been immaculate in his kicking, was able to get in on the act, taking advantage of excellent pressure from the England forwards with the interval looming. His try made it 45-5 at the break, and the Twickenham crowd were raucous in their approval.

As ESPNScrum.com noted, the fly-half’s ball-striking had been perfect in the opening period:

The pattern of the match didn’t change when play resumed, as England kept a stranglehold on proceedings.

Once again, each side was able to get on the scoreboard at the beginning of the first period, with Slade and Waldrom going over early. Then there was a chance for Wade to complete what would have been a well-deserved hat-trick, as he showcased blistering speed to race clear and into the end zone unopposed.

However, he made a glaring error when tapping down, as we can see here courtesy of EatSleepRugby:

Christian Wade just had an absolute nightmare when he was about to get a hat-trick in an England shirt! https://t.co/tuhAuXChxN

— EatSleepRugby (@Eat_Sleep_Rugby) May 31, 2015

Regardless, with such a substantial lead, England were able to play with a swagger in the latter stages. It was on show not long after Wade’s missed chance, as a through-the-legs pass from Shane Geraghty set Beaumont clear and he put the Three Lions 59-19 ahead.

England still had time to add some more gloss to their display. Wade did get his hat-trick eventually, scurrying onto a loose ball, before Cipriani completed a virtuoso performance with another try in the dying embers; the No. 10 finished up with a brace, 10 conversions and six penalties.

As noted by Laura-Jane Jones of Sky Sports, the performances of Wade and Cipriani will have given Lancaster plenty to ponder moving forward:

The Barabarians—who edged out Ireland prior to this match—weren't at their best here, but the quality of England’s play would have been enough to cause a lot of teams problems. There was so much ingenuity going forward, while the dynamic defending from the likes of Joe Launchbury and Beaumont gave the hosts a real cohesive feel.

What was most encouraging for English supporters was the ruthlessness this team showcased in their finishing, Wade’s second half faux pas aside. If Lancaster’s troops can preserve this clinical streak with tougher challenges to come, they’re going to be a very difficult team to topple in the World Cup.  

England rugby union coach Stuart Lancaster has confirmed that France-based stars Steffon Armitage of Toulon and Nick Abendanon of Clermont Auvergne will not feature for England at the 2015 Rugby World Cup. This was after declining to exercise the “exceptional circumstances” clause: an add-on to England’s policy of not selecting those playing club rugby overseas.

England, in deciding not to pick either 2014 European Rugby Player of the Year Armitage, or the 2015 winner of the same award, Abendanon, have made a conclusive statement that no matter how good their form and England’s deficiencies in their positions, overseas players will not be selected.

In particular, if Armitage, the best back-rower in Europe is not an “exceptional circumstance,” then who could ever possibly be picked for England when playing abroad? As a result, England and the RFU need to scrap a clause that only provides unnecessary distractions for players and the coaching staff.

Keep the message simple: To play for England, players must be playing in England: full stop.

Lancaster, in a video interview with the BBC, made the most compelling defence yet for England’s policy, citing New Zealand’s decision not to pick world-class prop Carl Hayman at the 2011 World Cup, despite Toulon agreeing to release him.

Lancaster also mentioned New Zealand’s refusal to select Harlequin’s Nick Evans, despite the fact that injuries to their three first-choice 10s, Dan Carter, Aaron Crudden and Colin Slade, left them with their fourth-choice, Stephen Donald, at fly-half for the World Cup final.

England have taken the decision not to select Armitage or Abendanon primarily to maintain the strength of the domestic competition, the Aviva Premiership, but also because agreements with Premiership clubs allow England to call up players for training camps during the regular club season. In France, such arrangements do not exist.

The Premiership as a feeder for England is the more important factor of the two as it is not inconceivable that the best players in Europe, such as Armitage and Abendanon, could demand their own clauses with French clubs to attend England training, rather like Northampton Saints’ George North has with Wales.

Abendanon, though, whose form with Clermont has far surpassed his performances with Bath in previous seasons, told Sky Sports he was “gutted” to have been omitted, adding:

"If England had decided to bring in French players, I think me and Steffon probably would have been itching to get hold of English clubs to take us back to the Premiership."

The way that Armitage and Abendanon have both excelled overseas remains the best argument for invoking the clause.

Strong cases can be made in favour and against England’s policy of not selecting overseas-based players, but the most important thing is that England abolish the “exceptional circumstances” clause as, realistically, it will never be invoked. It muddies the issue and provides an unnecessary distraction for the England team.

Nick Abendanon was crowned European Player of the Year earlier this month as a reward for his form in his first season as a Clermont Auvergne player.

The former Bath flyer has reveled amid the stars of the French giants, particularly in the Champions Cup.

His display in the competition's knockout stages elevated the full-back to the same status as that other much-talked-about English exile, Steffon Armitage, the man he has deposed as the best player on the continent.

That status is "English, over there and not eligible," as far as the RFU is concerned. And it is a policy that has been losing credibility by the day.

The RFU have blocked Abendanon’s—and Armitage’s—way back to the Red Rose in a bid to stop the bulk of their players crossing the channel by the ferry-load to sign for the high-paying powerhouses in the Top 14. Lose them to France and lose control of their release for England duty.

The salary cap in England will go from £5 million to £5.5 million, per premiershiprugby.com, for next season, with the number of "excluded" players permitted to be employed outside that cap going from one to two as the league tries its darnedest to appease players who know what they would be worth in France.

It may help keep most of the best Englishmen on this side of the channel as long as "play here or don’t play for us" continues to be the message from Twickenham.

Unless, as the world and his wife will be aware, we find ourselves in "exceptional circumstances."

In fact, Gavin Mairs of the Telegraph wrote last month that England will be able to invoke those circumstances to allow Stuart Lancaster to pick both men:

The fact that England are hosting the Rugby World Cup in September and October would almost certainly meet that criteria should Lancaster decide to make a case to the RFU board to include either player in his 45-man training squad that will be announced next month.

Some squad members have voiced their concerns that bringing these players back would disrupt the mood in the camp.

Really? Forget for a moment whether Abendanon’s capacity for the calamitous in one breath followed by brilliance the next is Stuart Lancaster’s cup of tea.

What if Jonny Wilkinson was a few years younger and had steered Toulon to all that silverware they have gobbled up in recent seasons. How would those players feel about his impact on the harmony of the group?

Abendanon has flourished as a player since making the move, just as Armitage has vastly improved in his four seasons at Toulon.

Steffon Armitage and Nick Abendanon will hear on May 20th if they will be involved with England's #RWC2015 campaign. pic.twitter.com/JEMzXd330c

— EatSleepRugby (@Eat_Sleep_Rugby) May 13, 2015

According to the Guardian, “Both players would be certainties for England’s World Cup squad were they still based at home.”

But rules are rules, say many experts, and that is a fair enough point.

If playing for England was the be-all and end-all for these players, perhaps they would do everything they could to engineer a move back to an English side, as former England hooker Brian Moore intimated in his Telegraph column in March:

I played in three World Cups and they were all special. To play in even one is an experience that any top player should crave and one for which he should be prepared to make whatever sacrifice is required. If England give Armitage that indication we would find out just how much he wants to play for his country or whether his talk has, as some suspect, been just that. If he makes the move he should be included.

And World Cup-winning captain Martin Johnson, who presided over England's dismal 2011 campaign, agrees, as reported by the Guardian:

If you’re desperate to come and play, then get yourself in England. There’s any number of calls you could make on picking and not picking in ‘exceptional circumstances’. They’ve got a rule in place, it’s pretty clear, been there for quite a long time.

However, with Australia’s removal of their own policy not to pick players playing overseas, per the Telegraph, New Zealand and England are the only two countries still applying the principle.

As the paper’s story says, the Wallabies’ decision is one “that recognises the changing dynamics of a global rugby market for professional players.”

New Zealand, on the other hand, operate in their own orbit. The pull of the black jersey continues to outweigh the lure of the lucre for all but a few names who jacked it in early to make a long term commitment to a career in the northern hemisphere (think Carl Hayman, Luke McAlister, Corey Flynn et al).

The vast majority of the first-choice All Blacks time their sojourns overseas so as to be back in plenty of time to earn reinstatement for the next World Cup. If the current restrictions remain in England, English players could follow that template.

A number of high-profile All Blacks have fled the land of the Long White Cloud immediately after a World Cup to cash in on the European market for a season or two before timing their return to their homeland to make a run for re-selection ahead of the next tournament. A fresh crop is doing exactly the same thing this year, per 3news.co.nz.

In England, the cases of Abendanon and Armitage are entirely different.

These are two players who were discarded by England and, believing themselves to be surplus to requirements, took the decision to look after their own careers by earning as much as they can in France rather than operating under the constraints of the salary cap in the Premiership. Their rugby has flourished as a result.

Let’s be honest. If Mike Brown had enjoyed a 2014-15 season in the same form he displayed in 2013-14, the Abendanon campaign would carry far less weight.

But as the Harlequin continues his recovery from a nasty concussion sustained in the Six Nations and with Northampton’s Ben Foden travelling the long road back from knee-ligament damage, England’s options to fill the No. 15 shirt seem to start and end with Saracens’ Alex Goode.

Choosing not to add the European Player of the Year to those stocks seems verging on certifiable.

The smiles spread across the faces of Australian cricketers past and present this week speak volumes for the way Kevin Pietersen’s exclusion from the English national side has been received by England’s rivals, per foxsports.com.au.

A team shorn of its best player is a team they are happier to do battle with.

No one is saying Abendanon or Armitage would be the pivotal players, with England's World Cup destiny in their hands. But the fact is that Stuart Lancaster is staring down the barrel at the prospect of trying to win a home World Cup and could choose to attempt it without the men who have won the two most recent awards for the best player in Europe.

Putting aside the concerns over market forces and subjective opinions on the players themselves, that very notion seems more than just exceptional.

It’s wrong.

Rugby League star Sam Tomkins was in the news last week when he announced his return to the UK from New Zealand.

The former Wigan man claimed homesickness had caused him to call time prematurely on his contract with the New Zealand Warriors, and he will be back in Blighty in time for the next Super League campaign, per the Guardian.

And a return to his old club looks to be on the cards, according to the newspaper:

Wigan appears the most likely destination for Tomkins, who could rejoin his brother Joel in the ranks at the DW Stadium. The Wigan chairman Ian Lenagan said this week on the Wigan Today website: “If he became available we would be very interested.

“We’ve got the first option. If it gets to the point where he is available it is in our hands. And I’ll be delighted if that was the case.”

However, the news has revived the idea that he could be set for a switch of codes altogether.

Tomkins’ brother Joel has already completed a stint in union with moderate success, joining Saracens and playing in the 2013 autumn internationals for England to no great acclaim, before vanishing back to rugby league.

In 2011 Tomkins turned out for the Barbarians, scoring in a heavy defeat to Australia.

And the full-back, now 26, hinted at the beginning of last year that he would "like to try rugby union," per ESPN.co.uk.

That followed a column by none other than Sir Clive Woodward in the Daily Mail, who wrote: "Sam Tomkins was born to play 13 for England and we should never have allowed him to leave the country to play rugby league in New Zealand."

But for players like Tomkins there is a window of opportunity that you have to exploit when it comes to switching codes, and it now feels like his window is shut.

Following the emergence of Jonathan Joseph as a genuine, threatening outside centre, Woodward’s calls for Tomkins to be pursued by England to play in that shirt are nowhere to be heard.

And it seems, if it were to happen, that he would have to be a full-back or wing with his smaller stature.

Indeed, anyone hopeful that Tomkins’ impending return to England could open the door to rugby union for him might think twice after the damning verdict passed down on the England league international by NRL pundits on a magazine programme in Australia hosted by Matthew Johns.

His signing by the New Zealand Warriors was branded a "failure" on the programme in light of his decision to come home and it was decreed that the player was not "robust enough" for the competition Down Under.

That should set alarm bells ringing for union observers who have seen the workload of a full-back in the 15-man game become heavily slanted toward dealing with aerial bombardments while players bear down on them to smash them into next week.

He would also be the last line of defence, a job that even a player as accomplished as Leigh Halfpenny can get wrong in terms of technique, as we saw when he knocked himself out tackling Italy’s Samuela Vunisa during the Six Nations.

Tomkins’ fast feet and eye for a gap are mightily impressive attributes, but in league they can be used on a field with more space and no one in the backfield to defend if he breaks the line.

But space is reduced and defences more populated in union, which would dull the effectiveness of his attacking flair so evident in this highlight reel.

Furthermore, Tomkins would come with high wage expectations and even then he'd have to spend a season adapting and finding his true role in union.

In terms of wings and full-backs involved in the England setup, there is less to teach Anthony Watson, Christian Wade, Jack Nowell, Jonny May or Chris Pennell—and at a lower cost—to enable them to reach the next level of their development.

The alternative of nursing along an expensive convert who, if playing for a club down south may yet still get homesick for Wigan, is not appealing.

If Tomkins was going to switch, his flirtation with the Barbarians before his big money move to New Zealand was his moment.

It was said on ESPN.co.uk that any switch for Tomkins would be with an eye to the 2019 rugby union World Cup.

With that sort of time frame, the Rugby Football Union and its clubs should acknowledge that they are producing plenty of young, promising talents who could mature into a world-class team by then, without the need for Tomkins to jump the queue.