In the Cauldron

29th September 2015

What a disappointment on Saturday evening! No doubt there will be any amount of analysis and recriminations over the coming weeks and months, especially if England loses to Australia in the Rugby World cup next week. So what went wrong?

We could argue forever over the team composition, (I for one think it was the wrong selection in a number of positions) but ultimately it came down to leadership on the field and decision making in high pressure situations. England lost their way badly in the second half, Wales gradually reeling in our score and ultimately winning by one kick. However with stronger leadership this would never have happened – Martin Johnson would never have let a 10 point lead slip in such an important game. I have recently been reading the “21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership” by John C. Maxwell, and two of those stand out for me, those being the law of respect and the law of victory. Whilst people like and admire the captain Chris Robshaw, I am not convinced that people respect him enough, consequently when the chips are down and victory is in the balance, the team simply don’t believe in him enough to ensure we always win the tight encounters.

I think this is reflected in his decision to take the line-out rather than kick for a draw in the final 3 or 4 minutes. It was almost as though he felt the need to show off to his team and crowd. A good leader would have weighed up the risks involved, and even in the cauldron of Twickenham, would have made the right balanced decision. Instead he took the risk to prove himself to others, and may well have ended up taking England out of the World Cup.

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