Mike Tindall has reacted strongly after some of his 2003 World Cup colleagues paid a visit to the England camp during the Six Nations
Mike Tindall laid into some of his fellow World Cup-winning heroes with an X-rated rant as he defended the current England squad.
England finished fifth in the table following a 48-46 defeat by France in Paris last weekend, with their victory over Wales in round one the only win from a tournament that began amid high expectations but ended in huge disappointment. It has left head coach Steve Borthwick fighting to save his job, with the RFU launching an investigation into the wretched campaign.
Tindall, along with ex-England forward Joe Marler, has been dissecting England’s woeful performance on their The Good, The Bad & The Rugby podcast. Host Alex Payne brought up the visit by a group of 2003 heroes to the squad following the defeats to Scotland and Ireland.
The likes of Martin Johnson, Lawrence Dallaglio, Will Greenwood, Ben Kay, Phil Vickery and Jason Leonard spent time with the squad, going out for a curry. The Times has subsequently reported that some of the ex-players felt it was a “bad environment” and were concerned about the squad’s reserved nature, lack of critical thinking and limited knowledge of their opponents.
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Members of the group were also said to be alarmed at the current players’ reaction when a World Cup winner challenged the squad to devote their lives to the sport over the next 18 months ahead of the World Cup in Australia. It was suggested that the players had not been spoken to like that before.
Tindall didn’t take kindly to those claims, blasting: “Outside of one person, not one of them has ever f****** coached, so what the f*** do they know?
“Like, they’re all my best friends, but not one of them has coached. Ben Kay, you could say he’s like a coach because he’s watching so many f****** games [as an RFU non-executive director].
“But Johnno’s [Johnson, who coached England to the Six Nations title in 2011] the only one who’s been in Steve’s position right now. A good figurehead; has had a coaching [career].
“Will Greenwood, [coach at] Maidenhead, well done! But does watch a lot of games as well. Lol [Dallaglio], never coached, never looked like coaching.”
Marler then weighed in, arguing that players must be treated differently now compared to 10 or 20 years ago. He said: “It’s a different kettle of fish now. The youngsters, the generation coming through, you have to treat them differently, you have to talk to them differently.”
Borthwick’s future as England coach will hinge on the RFU’s annual Six Nations review. The process is expected to last several weeks, with players, Borthwick and his backroom staff asked for their views on the reasons behind the defeats to Scotland and Ireland and the late collapse against Italy.
While England were edged in the climax to the tournament at the Stade de France, it was a stirring performance full of intent and attacking endeavour that may have bought the 46-year-old some time.
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