Rugby World Cup 2011: England Are a Disgrace

Martin Johnson's reputation is very much on the line as England's discipline has collapsed in this Rugby World Cup.

First, let me confess, I'm a football fan, but I played rugby and watch a great deal of it—usually for pleasure.

Rugby fans constantly criticize football for its diving, play acting and general indiscipline. But when it happens with the England Rugby team, it's no big deal.

The evidence should be seriously worrying for all England fans, however.

First, can anyone imagine that the All Blacks would be in a bar, carousing and canoodling during the most important tournament on the planet. It's simply unprofessional. And yet, England have done this previously, including an embarrassing escapade drinking aftershave in Paris.

If Sir Alex Ferguson caught his players drinking to celebrate their win over Bolton, days before their match against Chelsea, there would be all hell to pay.

And what must Danny Cipriani make of it. Dropped from the squad for being seen in a street in Soho in the early hours of the morning, he now watches the England vice-captain get away with murder and several other players picked for the next game for doing what should be treated as worse.

Johnson emerges with no credit from the incident either. He is left appearing to condone his players antics—not only in a bar, but also bunjee jumping, which surely can't be the best therapy for strained muscles.

It all leaves the impression that these "overpaid prima donnas" (because that's what they would be called if they were footballers) have a license to do whatsoever they want and are having a laugh at our expense.

And then there is the shambles on the pitch. For years, we could easily beat the French. All we had to do was turn up, pile on the pressure and they would give away penalty after penalty.

While England fans may think the team is being targeted by referees with the burgeoning penalty count, England are frankly bringing it on themselves.

Some of the decision-making of the players is verging on kindergarten standard. The referee is talking in their ears all the time and yet they are being pinged for one stupid act after another.

With the penalty count rising against Georgia and Dan Cole having been sin-binned against Argentina last week for the team's repeated offending, what on earth was Dylan Hartley doing, playing the ball with his hand when not only had England already been penalized for this elementary offense several times, but the referee shouting in his ear to stop it?

Added to the off-field shenanigans, one is forced to the conclusion that Johnson has lost control of his charges and needs to get it back. On camera in the dressing room, he hardly looked as if he was hauling them over the coals.

He would probably come out with some platitude like "they know what they need to do." Maybe Johnson is too close to the players and too forgiving, having been a combative forward himself?

The excuse normally advanced by supporters is "rugby is a highly physical contact sport, you must expect this sort of thing" while lambasting footballers for falling over when they get kicked.

The rest of the nations at this World Cup must be laughing themselves silly. Those that will face England later will be licking their lips, while the rest could legitimately ask "why don't they sort it?"

Whatever the outcome of the Georgia match—and indeed this World Cup—England have tarnished their reputation once again and, for a multi-sports fan who would love to see England glory, there is a sense of dismay verging on distaste.

If the England football team had committed half the indiscretions that these players have done—on and off the pitch—in a tournament only 10 days old, the inquisition would be loud and very public in all the media.

Let's hope nobody is naive enough to say "that's just rugby", because it just won't do. Whatever the short term-cost, Johnson needs to very publicly make a stand, such as a one-match suspension for any player who is sin-binned, to get the message home.

Sir Clive Woodward would have sorted this long ago—and look what he achieved.