Where does England stand now?
England’s triumph in this year’s Six Nations might have raised their morale for the upcoming World Cup and ended the eight year wait for a major title, but the Ireland’s thrashing in the last match has left many English fans and critics wondering.
England team was all smiles while receiving the trophy, but everyone could tell these were temporary, as the Irish defeat has pinched them hard. The Lansdowne memory will keep haunting the English side till the World Cup. After beating teams like Wales and
France, one can surely claim the undisputed crown of Northern Hemisphere, but England was given a reality check.
What do we deduce from this situation is the important part. This recent development means that no matter how skilled side you have and even if your confidence is peaking, you need composure at that moment of time when an injured lion is attacking you from
all sides.
Lately, Grand Slam has been set as a benchmark for any Northern Hemisphere side to claim superiority. After seven back to back clean sweeps in Six Nations, England fell short of proving its metal this time around. The story of Six Nations 2011 will not be
passed on as ‘England Six Nations Winner’, but it will move around as ‘England who was denied Grand Slam’.
Martin Johnson has already been through this ordeal once in 1999, when Wales took away England’s chances for Grand Slam with a dramatic win. Being a part of that team at Wembley in 1999, which was a World Cup year, he realizes the amount of expectations
of England’s fans which were denied. The very same year, England was the hot favourite and were expected to make a big difference in the World Cup, but things turned out to be quite different than anticipated.
The question that arises is, whether Martin Johnson will be able to keep the repute intact. England is currently the hot favourites for World Cup alongside France, New Zealand and South Africa. It has been nine years since last time England won the World
Cup, but it was an underdog in that era.
Martin Johnson should be working on a strategy and eliminate the element of uncertainty from his side. The upcoming World Cup and the recent Ireland defeat will be the most pressing concerns for Johnson. It’s the real turning point for which Martin Johnson
was actually appointed. His experience in tough situations, where no skill can help but a good strategy gelled in with a vast experience, is one of the major reasons he is on such a significant position today. Martin Johnson is a perfect blend of both and
England is now looking up to him for a change in the traditional outcomes.
A reality check this weekend has proved one thing for sure and that is the shortcomings of English sides in important and pressure situations. Though, they played well against France and Wales, but there were times when the jolts were felt in their stability.
We can debatably say that England made it to the Six Nations not only because of its hard work, but there were some major blunders made by the opponents.
Truly speaking, the English side was not as fine as we thought it to be till the fourth round of Six Nations. Grand Slam means that a team is unbeatable in its domain and doesn’t lack in any aspect of the game. Johnson and Wilkinson are probably the only
ones from the English side that realizes the real problem and it is not the skill or passion, it is lack of composure and sustainability in pressure points. But we have to accept that England has made a long journey to earn thus title and as Johnson notified,
the Irish defeat is a ‘scar’ on their eight years story.
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