ADVERTISEMENT
RugbyDump
REGISTER
LOGIN
ADVERTISEMENT
RugbyDump
Thursday Jul 23, 2020

Carling responds to Woodward's claims about England's 'Laurel and Hardy' RWC final preparations

Former England captain Will Carling has said that it is “very dangerous” to judge England’s preparation for the Rugby World Cup final on two incidents, following comments made by Sir Clive Woodward.

ADVERTISEMENT

The 2003 RWC winning coach pulled no punches recently on a webinar hosted by St Mary’s University Twickenham, where he is a visiting professor, labelling England’s conduct ahead of the final loss to South Africa as “embarrassing” and “really poor”.

“You look at the South Africans on paper and you go, ‘Wow, this is a serious team’. Of course, everyone is building up England and they didn’t help themselves. They just seemed to get distracted, it just wasn’t the same,” Woodward says in the interview, which can be watched below.

“I was with Martin and Lawrence and we were going, ‘This is going to be close, this is going to be more than close’. In fact, I thought South Africa were going to win because it was a complete reversal from the semi-final. I just saw distractions everywhere.”

The two main contentions Woodward had were the way both Joe Marler and Dan Coles comported themselves in the press conference prior to the final, and the fact that the team were late to arrive for the match.

“I don’t normally go to the press conferences despite the fact that I was working over there for the Mail and ITV. But I went to this press conference because I was interviewing Eddie Jones after the main press conference. Eddie and Owen were there and it was the Thursday afternoon, two days before the biggest day of your life, and they were okay. It wasn’t quite as sharp and edgy, there was a bit too much humour for me.

“But then they left and half the press conference left with them. Then they sent up two players. I stayed in the room. I was at the back with my baseball cap on, so no one knew I was there. The two players were Dan Cole and Joe Marler, two guys on the bench, two front rowers.

ADVERTISEMENT

“Honestly, I sat there and it was like Laurel and Hardy. I’m just going, I know they are on the bench but this is 48 hours from the World Cup final. It was to me poor and that is me being polite. It was really poor. As history turned out, these two players would have a huge, huge role in the game with (Kyle) Sinckler going off so early. So Cole is on really, really early. Marler comes on as they take off Mako Vunipola.”

Marler has already objected to these comments, saying “change the record Sir Clive” on Twitter.

The 64-year-old contrasted this with England’s preparation for the semi-final against the All Blacks where he said “in the build-up everything was great”.

Now Carling has also responded on Twitter, saying that there are thousands of interactions before a game for a team and players, and that two do not derail a team. He said:

ADVERTISEMENT

“Taking late arrival of the team and a press conference as evidence that England weren’t ready for a World Cup Final is very dangerous. Getting ready for a game is about 100’s, 1000’s of tiny interactions, moments. Two do not derail a team…”

Carling has not only worked with Eddie Jones during his tenure as England head coach, operating as a leadership mentor, but captained England in the 1995 RWC.

He will be accustomed to the rigours of preparing for high pressure games from his own experience, having taken England to the semi-final in South Africa, and was probably aware of the state of mind of the Jones’ side in 2019, meaning he is well qualified to offer a retort.

Woodward’s take has already proven to be polarising, and Carling will not be the last person to offer their opinion on the matter.

You can watch the full chat with Woodward below, with his comments on the final starting six minutes into the video

Comments




Related Articles

  • 69 WEEKS AGO

    Foster stages assault on World Rugby headquarters...

  • 69 WEEKS AGO

    Pat Lambie sinks 55-metre kick to beat the...

  • 69 WEEKS AGO

    Rugby X - The fastest ever variation of Rugby...



ADVERTISEMENT

Great Tries

  • 5 WEEKS AGO

    Seriously impressive Courtney Lawes compilation released after England player calls time on international career

  • 7 WEEKS AGO

    Fiji number eight Viliame 'Bill' Mata scores audacious try

  • 8 WEEKS AGO

    Wild scenes in Toulouse as Portugal seal last gasp comeback win over Fiji

  • 13 WEEKS AGO

    South African schoolboy produces the greatest goosey in the sport

  • 14 WEEKS AGO

    Incredible team try showcases thrills of the grassroots game

View All

Big Hits & Dirty Play

  • 1 WEEK AGO

    Streaker causes major bust up as he tackles player

  • 2 WEEKS AGO

    Monster hit from Perrin leaves Bristol Bears player stunned

  • 3 WEEKS AGO

    Posolo Tuilagi's massive tackle lights up Top 14

  • 5 WEEKS AGO

    Theo Dan in the centre of 'punch' storm as possible infringement missed

  • 5 WEEKS AGO

    Seriously impressive Courtney Lawes compilation released after England player calls time on international career

View All

See It To Believe It

  • 1 WEEK AGO

    Compilation video shows Jamie George's surprising box of tricks

  • 7 WEEKS AGO

    Eddie Jones reported to have negotiated return to Japan national side

  • 8 WEEKS AGO

    Rees Zammit hits Olympic level as 100m sprint time is officially finally released

  • 9 WEEKS AGO

    Shocking record set to be broken at this year’s World Cup

  • 14 WEEKS AGO

    Incredible team try showcases thrills of the grassroots game

View All

Funnies

  • 1 WEEK AGO

    Streaker causes major bust up as he tackles player

  • 5 WEEKS AGO

    Luke Cowan-Dickie left red faced after losing very costly bet

  • 6 WEEKS AGO

    Mack Hansen proves once again that he is a hero in Ireland

  • 6 WEEKS AGO

    Irish players brilliantly take the p*** out of Sexton on plane intercom

  • 7 WEEKS AGO

    Brilliant video of Andy Farrell readying the Irish troops for battle

View All

Amateur

  • 46 WEEKS AGO

    You Won’t See Many Better Than This Silky-Smooth Try From Llandovery RFC

  • 47 WEEKS AGO

    Incredible Scenes As Caldy RFC Hand Ealing First Championship Defeat Of The Season

  • 70 WEEKS AGO

    Dubious Score Decides Result Of Rugby's Biggest Schools Fixture

  • 70 WEEKS AGO

    Incredible Scenes At School Boys Rugby Match

  • 70 WEEKS AGO

    The Next Dominant Backrow?

View All

Player Features

  • 11 HOURS AGO

    James Haskell shares thoughts on 'best mate' Owen Farrell

  • 1 DAY AGO

    The key change Steve Borthwick has made to England squad selection

  • 2 DAYS AGO

    Siya Kolisi opens up about stabbing incident in powerful interview with Dan Biggar

  • 2 DAYS AGO

    BREAKING: Owen Farrell to step away from England duties entirely

  • 3 DAYS AGO

    Community mourning loss of 29-year-old rugby player Melita Williams

View All