Dear England

Dear England,

Here’s your warning: I’m about to be an armchair expert. It’s not something I normally like to do, but I think your rugby team needs it. We have to be honest, the six nations was a monumental disappointment. Hearty competition and thoroughly improved teams in the championship is fantastic for the sport, but fifth? Have you ever heard of the saying, “if you’re not first, you’re last”? “Learning opportunities” are great, but it’s a hell of a lot more satisfying if you can learn while you bring home the silverware, right?

So, with twenty-five years experience of supporting the world’s greatest sports team (the All Blacks, in case you’ve been living under a rock), experience living in the UK, and a little information from those with better technical knowledge than myself, I’m about to give the England rugby team a few pointers to help get them back on track. We need to see a spectacle come November 10th when we finally get that NZ/England match up all rugby fans have been patiently waiting for.

One: Be more aggressive at the breakdown. Get yourselves an English Richie McCaw or Sam Cane, and have them commit to every single ruck, relentlessly pressuring the opposition and doing everything they can to get turnover ball. (Disclaimer: this advice may have come from someone with more technical knowledge that myself).

Two: Play to the referee. This was one of the first lessons I was taught as a netballer, and it applies to probably any sport. The ref controls the game, and if you don’t figure out how to play within his directive, you’re not going to get very far. Oh, and another thing, stop trying to influence him – the more you do that, the less likely you are to actually have any influence. You don’t become a top-level ref by letting the players dictate the game.

Three: This refers to the top two inches – the mental aspect of the game. Remember why you love this sport, rediscover the significance that the white jersey has to you (hint: it’s not the paycheck), and determine what kind of legacy you want to leave behind when that jersey is no longer yours. But never forget you are part of a team, and the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Four: Water your own garden. This one is more for England rugby than the national team, but it’s still relevant. Forget about importing foreign players and providing them with £1m contracts. Invest the money and time into your own countrymen. The same goes for coaching staff too. Eddie’s done a fine job up until now, but is he a long-term solution? Who replaces him? England has an enormous playing and coaching pool, so nurture it.

Five: This one is for the fans – be patient. They say it’s easy to support a winning team, but as an All Blacks supporter, I beg to differ. You take the losses hard and you expect the best from your team. But when the score line is unflattering, it can be frustrating, especially when other nations take great glee in your loss and let you hear all about it. My advice is to take the high road, smile politely at the ribbings you get and don’t get sucked in to reading what the media has to say about your team – it’ll only wind you up.

So I hope you enjoyed reading this advice that you definitely never asked for.

Kind regards,

A concerned honourary supporter.

“When a flower doesn’t bloom you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower.” – Alexander Den Heijer

That’s all for now,

Jordyn x