'England lack an out-and-out openside'

Former All Black skipper Taine Randell on England's troubles

Former New Zealand captain Taine Randell believes that England lost last week's match against the All Blacks long before the first whistle had sounded, saying that the lack of balance within the chosen England XV had made the 36-3 drubbing in Dunedin practically unavoidable.

In an interview with this website, Randell said that England coach Clive Woodward fell into the trap of fielding his best fifteen individuals rather than the best overall team.

In the wake of the defeat - England's worst in six years - Woodward took an axe to his side, and Randell believes that the changes have given England a fighting chance of saving the two-Test series in Auckland on Saturday.

World Cup squad members Mike Catt, Matt Dawson, Steve Thompson and Danny Grewcock have all been dropped from the starting line-up, along with James Simpson-Daniel and Chris Jones.

Their places for the second Test are taken (respectively) by centre Stuart Abbott, scrum-half Andy Gomarsall, hooker Mark Regan, lock Steve Borthwick, wing Tom Voyce and flanker Joe Worsley.

"It's always great to see the All Blacks do well, and I'm happy that the new coaching team got off to a winning start," said Randell.

"Having lived and played in England, I appreciated just how good those English boys are - and the All Blacks did brilliantly to reduce them to just a single kick at goal.

"But I wasn't surprised that New Zealand won. I think the England management made the mistake of picking the best players rather than best team - the starting XV just didn't seem to be have any balance at all.

"Just look at the second row, for instance. [Simon] Shaw and Grewcock are both very, very good players - but both play the same type of game.

"Borthwick did well when he came on [for the second half] because he added something extra, he took on a few of the jobs that no one had attended during the first half, and England's fortunes increased dramatically."

Woodward tweaked England's back row by bringing in Worsley at the expense of Jones, but Randell believes England's biggest problems lie on the opposite side of the scrum. 

"England's biggest failure in Dunedin was up front - an area where they didn't expected to fail, and an area in which shouldn't really fail," he said.

"Everyone talks about the absence of Martin Johnson and Jonny Wilkinson  - but there's been another loss that has gone practically unnoticed, and that's the departure of Neil Back.

"Neil brought an extra dimension to England's game just by dint of the type of game he played, and I think his absence is the main reason behind England's current loss of form.

"Now that Richard Hill is playing at No.7 it hasn't work as well for them.

"Hill is very easily the best No.6 in the country, if not the world - but playing on the opposite side of the scrum involves a host of different skills.

"Don't get me wrong - Worsley, Jones, Hill and Lawrence Dallaglio are all very versatile players -  but none of them are out-and-out opensides.

"Over the last few years the English back row had been the team's main strength, and I think that the lack of specialist No.7 has affected the balance of the back row, and consequently the efficiency of the whole team."

Randell gave a request for a prediction a deft hand-off, but gave an insight into what England should expect in Auckland - and if anyone knows about Eden Park it is he.

The Saracens back-row forward won 51 caps for New Zealand, captaining his country on 22 occasions.

"I don't want to put the hex on the England boys but Eden Park is a bit of a stronghold - it's New Zealand's main ground, and the fans will show the All Blacks their appreciation for last week's win," said the former All Black.

"England aren't going to be as bad as they were last week - there's surely no way they can be - but whether these late personnel changes can reverse a 33-point loss remains to be seen - all will become clear on Saturday."

 

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