England in disarray…still

The so-called new era under Martin Johnson cannot come quickly enough. For 5 years, England has been rubbish and the latest episode in New Zealand has plumbed new depths of embarrassment.

On the pitch, there never seemed to be that collective desire that’s required to take on and beat the great teams - there were a few bright sparks of passion and commitment in the shape of James Haskell and Luke Narraway (among one or two others), but it’s not enough.

Off the pitch, it seems that their unaffected attitude has landed them in trouble. Rather than reflecting on another defeat, there were cheers and beers in a nightclub followed by that alleged debauchery that is simply unacceptable by anyone, let alone professional international sportsmen.

Last week I wrote a fairly optimistic summary of what we could take from the first test, but this week it is all a bit bleak.

Johnson needs to start from scratch.

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