ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Carling responds to Woodward's claims about England's 'Laurel and Hardy' RWC final preparations

BY Grant Constable  ·  Thursday Jul 23, 2020

Former England captain Will Carling has said that it is “very dangerous” to judge England’s preparation for the Rugby World Cup final on two incidents, following comments made by Sir Clive Woodward.

ADVERTISEMENT

The 2003 RWC winning coach pulled no punches recently on a webinar hosted by St Mary’s University Twickenham, where he is a visiting professor, labelling England’s conduct ahead of the final loss to South Africa as “embarrassing” and “really poor”.

“You look at the South Africans on paper and you go, ‘Wow, this is a serious team’. Of course, everyone is building up England and they didn’t help themselves. They just seemed to get distracted, it just wasn’t the same,” Woodward says in the interview, which can be watched below.

“I was with Martin and Lawrence and we were going, ‘This is going to be close, this is going to be more than close’. In fact, I thought South Africa were going to win because it was a complete reversal from the semi-final. I just saw distractions everywhere.”

The two main contentions Woodward had were the way both Joe Marler and Dan Coles comported themselves in the press conference prior to the final, and the fact that the team were late to arrive for the match.

“I don’t normally go to the press conferences despite the fact that I was working over there for the Mail and ITV. But I went to this press conference because I was interviewing Eddie Jones after the main press conference. Eddie and Owen were there and it was the Thursday afternoon, two days before the biggest day of your life, and they were okay. It wasn’t quite as sharp and edgy, there was a bit too much humour for me.

“But then they left and half the press conference left with them. Then they sent up two players. I stayed in the room. I was at the back with my baseball cap on, so no one knew I was there. The two players were Dan Cole and Joe Marler, two guys on the bench, two front rowers.

ADVERTISEMENT

“Honestly, I sat there and it was like Laurel and Hardy. I’m just going, I know they are on the bench but this is 48 hours from the World Cup final. It was to me poor and that is me being polite. It was really poor. As history turned out, these two players would have a huge, huge role in the game with (Kyle) Sinckler going off so early. So Cole is on really, really early. Marler comes on as they take off Mako Vunipola.”

Marler has already objected to these comments, saying “change the record Sir Clive” on Twitter.

The 64-year-old contrasted this with England’s preparation for the semi-final against the All Blacks where he said “in the build-up everything was great”.

Now Carling has also responded on Twitter, saying that there are thousands of interactions before a game for a team and players, and that two do not derail a team. He said:

ADVERTISEMENT

“Taking late arrival of the team and a press conference as evidence that England weren’t ready for a World Cup Final is very dangerous. Getting ready for a game is about 100’s, 1000’s of tiny interactions, moments. Two do not derail a team…”

Carling has not only worked with Eddie Jones during his tenure as England head coach, operating as a leadership mentor, but captained England in the 1995 RWC.

He will be accustomed to the rigours of preparing for high pressure games from his own experience, having taken England to the semi-final in South Africa, and was probably aware of the state of mind of the Jones’ side in 2019, meaning he is well qualified to offer a retort.

Woodward’s take has already proven to be polarising, and Carling will not be the last person to offer their opinion on the matter.

You can watch the full chat with Woodward below, with his comments on the final starting six minutes into the video

Related Articles

  • 30 WEEKS AGO

    Tickets now on sale as World XV set to face...

  • 30 WEEKS AGO

    '60 metres, plus change' - massive drop goal...

  • 30 WEEKS AGO

    Referee makes 'tackle of the season' as he...



ADVERTISEMENT

Great Tries

  • 3 WEEKS AGO

    WATCH: Outlandish Jacob Stockdale finish is truly world class

  • 3 WEEKS AGO

    Ulster denied THE GREATEST URC try you will ever see!

  • 3 WEEKS AGO

    Incredible Capuozzo break sets Dupont up for hatrick on return

  • 4 WEEKS AGO

    Fans praise 'Dom Perignon Rugby' as Irish players prepare for final match of South African tour

  • 5 WEEKS AGO

    Harlequins winger heralded as the next big England breakthrough after weekend's performance

View All

Big Hits & Dirty Play

  • 5 HOURS AGO

    WATCH: The biggest hit from week one of the Autumn Nations Series

  • 3 WEEKS AGO

    'Cheap shot' from Leicester Tigers vs Northampton Saints causing a stir online

  • 3 WEEKS AGO

    Wild moment leads to all in brawl during Welsh derby between Cardiff and Scarlets

  • 6 WEEKS AGO

    South African school boy makes the greatest tackle ever

  • 6 WEEKS AGO

    Huge guillotine tackle divides fans in viral footage

View All

See It To Believe It

  • 2 WEEKS AGO

    Insane moment as french backrow waves off medic and smokes Ange Capuozzo

  • 3 WEEKS AGO

    Incredible drop goal helps break 25-match losing streak

  • 4 WEEKS AGO

    Leinster fly half delivers insane 50:22 after being given start for Emerging Ireland

  • 4 WEEKS AGO

    French scrumhalf drills perfect shot at goal under outrageous circumstances

  • 4 WEEKS AGO

    Siya Kolisi makes young fans' day as he arrives at Cape Town school

View All

Funnies

  • 1 DAY AGO

    Mischievous Marcus Smith spotted engaging in the dark arts during All Blacks match

  • 3 WEEKS AGO

    Jonny Sexton: 'Fondest memory of the Heineken Cup in 2011?' - 'Gordon D'Arcy's bar' and 'Coppers'

  • 3 WEEKS AGO

    Watch: Mike Haley's post match interaction with RG Snyman leaves no doubt about where Munster players stand

  • 4 WEEKS AGO

    The rugby guy and Mack Hansen drop an all time BANGER with latest video

  • 4 WEEKS AGO

    ‘Pitch is made of concrete’ - Fan provides much needed update following half time incident

View All

Amateur

  • 95 WEEKS AGO

    You Won’t See Many Better Than This Silky-Smooth Try From Llandovery RFC

  • 95 WEEKS AGO

    Incredible Scenes As Caldy RFC Hand Ealing First Championship Defeat Of The Season

  • 118 WEEKS AGO

    Dubious Score Decides Result Of Rugby's Biggest Schools Fixture

  • 118 WEEKS AGO

    Incredible Scenes At School Boys Rugby Match

  • 119 WEEKS AGO

    The Next Dominant Backrow?

View All

Player Features

  • 3 WEEKS AGO

    Louis Rees-Zammit opens up about his biggest shock in chasing NFL dream

  • 3 WEEKS AGO

    'It's been an honour' - Wales legend retires from international rugby

  • 3 WEEKS AGO

    Jonny Sexton: 'Fondest memory of the Heineken Cup in 2011?' - 'Gordon D'Arcy's bar' and 'Coppers'

  • 3 WEEKS AGO

    'It's been horrible' - Wales captain to miss Autumn Nations

  • 4 WEEKS AGO

    'It was an easy decision for me' - Saints star commits to future

View All