JEREMY GUSCOTT
OUTSPOKEN AND UNMISSABLE… EVERY WEEK
The RFU have said recently that they would like the next England coach to be English, but recruitment in any area always comes with certain criteria. In this case, if the RFU want an English coach, they have to accept that their number of options will be fewer.
If you look at the football coach merry-go-round at international level, and in the Premier League, the big jobs almost always go to experienced managers. In rugby union the most inexperienced person England have picked as an international coach is Stuart Lancaster, and we know what happened there.
However, if you have worked with international players at club or provincial level, then you know how they tick, and that is why Scott Robertson's name is being mentioned alongside Steve Borthwick, and Ronan O'Gara, as potential successors to Eddie Jones as England coach when he steps down after next year's World Cup.
Robertson has a reputation for having very good communication skills, and that is a big bonus for the New Zealander. The way he understands and synchs with players so quickly is a very valuable asset, as his likeability. Robertson is one of those people that everyone seems to like, even though he still has his own strong opinions.
I believe that ‘Razor' takes an old-fashioned coaching view of first seeing who are the best players in the key positions. That way he gets clarity about how they want to play, and what suits them best, as opposed to the alternative attitude of a coach dictating how he wants to play, and then trying to find players to fit that pattern.
Robertson has coached players in New Zealand with skill-sets that are second to none, because at the Crusaders he was effectively coaching an All Blacks team. So, the argument that he hasn't coached at international level is a bit grey.
Razor may not have the experience of coaching in the Rugby Championship, the Six Nations, or the World Cup but, in terms of developing international players and getting the best out of them, he has shown he can do that.
Steve Borthwick has a lot of international experience already as an assistant coach, and he has been successful with Japan, England, the Lions, and has already won a Premiership title at Leicester. Steve has always been a studious, analytical student of the game, first as a player, and now as a coach.
Borthwick's not quite Joe Schmidt in terms of minute inchby-inch, millimetre-by-millimetre coaching instruction, but he is still very much a details man. When he was with England as an assistant to Jones, England's line-out and driving maul were good. He expects high standards and makes players accountable. He is logical, straightforward, and consistent in what he says.
When Borthwick communicates it's fair to say that you do not always get the impression he is particularly happy – even when his side win – whereas with Robertson you will be left in no doubt because he is one of life's enthusiasts. In a way they are opposites. If Robertson is north, Borthwick is south. However, in both cases the message gets through so that their players are all on the same page.
O'Gara was a great player for Munster and Ireland with a natural ability to get the feel of a game and run it – and he's taken that nicely into his coaching, starting out as defence coach at Racing 92 in Paris, before making the long haul to join the Crusaders in NZ as assistant coach to Robertson for two years. Since then he has returned to French rugby as head coach of La Rochelle, and took them to their first European Cup title last season.
O'Gara is now having to cope with the expectation that comes with being successful, and perhaps the increased pressure is behind his recent 10-week ban for criticising the refereeing and organisation in the Top 14.
They are all very good candidates. It is the fundamentals that make brilliant coaches, and it means being a very hard worker, and being smart. These three have those attributes. England are spoilt for choice, and I don't think any of them would fail in the job.
Borthwick has a proven track-record at international level, and he understands the England club game inside-out. He would take England back to being very direct, with a strong set-piece, and that should be a constant strength – whereas you get generations of great backs coming along once in a while, so sometimes you have to wait for them.
The hard thing for Robertson will be that he does not know the English club game first-hand, but against that he will have the advantage of seeing it with a fresh pair of eyes, and seeing clearly how players can fit together as a team. That could be very good for England.
What matters is that when international squads have ups and downs, they remain on the same page in terms of what they are trying to achieve, and the core principles to get there. Teams like the Crusaders and Saracens have that.
It's why coaches like Robertson sometimes look at the best person to bring something to a team, rather than picking the best individual.
The toughest thing for all of them is if they inherit assistant coaches still in contract from the Jones era. My view is that they need to start with a completely clean sheet, so they can bring in their own coaching teams.
Obviously, Robertson and O'Gara have worked together successfully at the Crusaders, and could probably do so again, although Borthwick and O'Gara could also work because they are both very analytical.
However, it is essential that the head coach picks the England team, and has overall responsibility for it. It is unlikely that two opposites like Borthwick and Robertson could work together, especially as it would mean a demotion for one of them. By the same token, O'Gara on his own would be a bit of a leap, because he has got no international coaching experience.
Borthwick is the safe bet, and the coach with the most experience, and O'Gara is the long shot. Robertson is a good bet, and if O'Gara joined him, it could be even better.
What the RFU say at the moment about future England coaches is sufficiently inconsistent that no one should worry about it too much. First, we are told that they want an English coach, then they say that they want the new coach embedded alongside Jones going into the 2023 World Cup. Since Robertson and O'Gara have emerged as candidates alongside Borthwick, neither issue seems to be top of the agenda.
