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Six Nations record unacceptable but we can win World Cup, says England chief Six Nations record unacceptable but we can win World Cup, says England chief
(about 4 hours later)
England’s fourth successive Six Nations runners-up finish is unacceptable but Stuart Lancaster’s side can still triumph at the World Cup on home soil, the Rugby Football Union chief executive, Ian Ritchie, has said. When the Rugby Football Union published its last strategic plan a couple of years ago, it set the goal of going into the World Cup it is hosting as the Six Nations champions and second in the world rankings. Neither target has been hit and Ian Ritchie, the chief executive of the RFU, has described a fourth successive second-place finish in the championship as unacceptable while proclaiming his confidence in England’s ability to win the Webb Ellis Cup in October.
England finished behind Ireland by a difference of six points despite a thrilling 55-35 victory over France at Twickenham on Saturday. Ritchie also dissociated himself from the remarks of some players, who after the disappointment of missing out on the title despite scoring 55 points against France, accused Italy and Scotland of not fronting up in Saturday’s earlier games against Wales and the eventual champions Ireland. He said England’s destiny had been in their control with opportunities squandered.
“Four years as runners-up is not acceptable and we are not happy with how that came about,” Ritchie said. “If you go back through history, bearing in mind a lot of things, we should be, as a country, winning more in terms of grand slams, Six Nations Championships, other things. “There is no point in bleating about it,” Ritchie said. “We did not do enough over five matches and Ireland deserved to win. It was in our hands but we were not clever enough during parts of games to deserve to win and while scoring 55 points against France we conceded 35. We are not a developing side. We should be going into every game doing our utmost to win and to win well. We have got the resources and the talent. We have to make sure we deliver in the World Cup.
“The Irish deserved the win because of what they did over the five matches. We did not do enough over the five matches. There’s no point in bleating about it. “Finishing second for the fourth time in as many years is not acceptable. We should as a country be winning more whether it is grand slams, championships or other things. We are, and I am trying to find a diplomatic way of saying this, not happy with how it came about. We have the talent to win the World Cup and I believe we can do it. Whether we do depends on application and execution during matches which, in elite sport, invariably come down to small margins.”
“We simply didn’t take opportunities, didn’t do what we should have done, were not clever enough during parts of the game in order to deserve to win.” Ritchie has no regrets about agreeing a contract extension last autumn with Stuart Lancaster and his England management team that will take them through to the 2019 World Cup in Japan. The RFU was criticised at the time but since then victories have been achieved over World Cup group opponents Wales and Australia.
England’s attentions now turn to the World Cup, where they have been drawn in Pool A alongside Wales and the twice former champions Australia. “We have missed some targets, such as winning the Six Nations and reaching second in the world rankings [England are fourth], but the underlying position is positive,” Ritchie said. “We remain absolutely confident in and committed to our coaching team, and our optimism for the World Cup was reinforced by elements of what happened against France. Targets are not the be-all and end-all: you have to look at the totality.”
England begin their World Cup campaign against Fiji on 18 September at Twickenham and Ritchie is confident. England’s match against France had a peak television audience of 9.6m viewers on the BBC, something the home unions will be mindful of when the television contract for the Six Nations is negotiated. For the first time, non-terrestrial companies will be seriously considered, offering money rather than reach.
“Are we in the frame enough to win it? Yes,” Ritchie said. “I think we’ve got enough talent now, I think we’ll have more talent coming back in when we get to September and I’ve got to think and believe – and I know the team and Stuart believe – that we can win this. “It is a classic trade-off between ratings and audience and money,” Ritchie said. “On one side, there is a 9.6m audience and on the other side all the unions involved are about investing the money they receive back into the sport. It someone comes up with a financial offer, you look at that in terms of what it can do for your game.
“We should be able to win it. Will we do it? That depends on our application and execution. It’s frankly as simple as that.” “The Six Nations is a fantastic competition and what happened last Saturday makes it even more popular. It would be hard to find anything to grow the game better than what happened that day, which was phenomenal.
“The match at Twickenham was extraordinary, the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune from the first minute. You could not have written a script for what happened and the engagement of the public was phenomenal: more people got involved online than they did for the Olympics and, looking to the World Cup, we have to build on that.”
The end of the Six Nations means a return to club rugby for the rest of the season. Premiership Rugby used the international period to propose the top flight be expanded by two clubs to 14 from the season after next with relegation and promotion suspended for an unspecified period of time. It is expected to form part of the negotiations with the RFU over a renewal of the elite player agreement, which runs out in 15 months, but nothing has yet been formally submitted.
“It is not a simple question,” said Ritchie, who earlier this month concluded a five-year deal with the Championship clubs. “I have no problem with examining change but you have to look at this from various aspects: what it would mean to the Premiership, the Championship, the England team and the economic implications.
“There are also questions such as who goes up and down and how long it would be left alone. We have yet to see a formal proposition and it would have to be analysed from various points of view.
“It is certainly not a fait accompli and a vibrant Championship is vital from a player development perspective. We have to talk this through with Premiership Rugby.”