England Test centurion Courtney Lawes insists that the RFU are not giving Steve Borthwick all the tools needed to succeed at the highest level.
The head coach finds himself under pressure following a disastrous Six Nations as they lost four successive matches and finished the tournament down in fifth position.
Their last title came in 2020 while they have won just one Grand Slam – in 2016 – since 2003.
That is not an acceptable return for the resources that England have and Lawes has pointed to a number of areas which is harming the national team.
‘Priorities all wrong’
“That is not a great return, and I think that we have got our priorities all wrong,” he wrote in his Times column.
“There is too much focus on the World Cup and on long-term planning. The Six Nations is an important competition in its own right and English rugby is not set up to give ourselves the best chance of winning it.
“The introduction of central contracts for the England squad was overdue but they do not go far enough. The players still serve different masters. Steve Borthwick has more influence over his core group of 25 players than any previous head coach but he cannot control how much they play or in what position.
“If you want to succeed at international level, then the head coach needs to have more say in what the players are doing, like Andy Farrell has with Ireland.
“I am not saying that the clubs cannot be trusted. Not at all. They only have the players’ best interests at heart. But their aim is to build through a season and peak in the play-offs. Meanwhile, England need players to be Test-match ready in November, again in February and then firing in July.
“The physical and emotional strain that places on a player can be too much. It looked to me like some of the England boys who went on the British & Irish Lions tour were struggling to hit the emotional intensity required to compete at the highest level.”
Club v country
That club v country issue has been a battle for every England head coach but France boss Fabien Galthie has it tougher from that perspective.
Despite the power of the French clubs, Les Bleus have claimed back-to-back Six Nations titles and have three of the past five tournaments.
But as Lawes points out, Galthie is available to pick all his best players, which is not the case for Borthwick.
The RFU have refused to budge their position on overseas-based player but the former back five forward was rather forthright in his view on the subject.
“Fabien Galthié, the France head coach, benefits from building his team around a core from Toulouse and Bordeaux Bègles, which has a direct bearing on cohesion and understanding,” he added.
“England had been working towards building their backline around a group of Northampton Saints stars but finished the Six Nations fielding six players from seven different clubs.
“France also benefit from being able to select all their best players, each of whom is given absolute licence to bring their own character to bear on the team.
“Maybe the one area of compromise was between Antoine Dupont and Matthieu Jalibert, two playmakers who run the show for their clubs. But the Toulouse scrum half and Bordeaux No10 found a perfect balance.
“England, however, are not picking all their best players. The RFU policy of not selecting those based abroad is damaging. You can’t tell me that England wouldn’t have a better chance of winning a Six Nations title — or even the World Cup in 2027 if you insist on looking that far ahead — with a squad featuring Kyle Sinckler, Jack Willis, Tom Willis and David Ribbans.”