Let's be real. The RFU dithered on Eddie for too long, then lost their nerve, and now find themselves squarely between two stools.wigworth wrote: ↑Sun Aug 27, 2023 2:52 pmWhat else could have the RFU done? They got the coach who was going to replace Eddie after the world cup anyway. There was no other magic bullet coaches out there at the time who could come in and save the day. As far as I am concerned the press/media and the fans who were driving Jones out are to blame for this, reeks of first order thinking. It is why I was in somewhat disbelief Tigers fans pushing for Jones to be sacked couldn't see Borthwick leaving coming a mile off, who else was it ever going to be.Darc Tiger wrote: ↑Sun Aug 27, 2023 2:43 pmIts the RFU's fault, not the fans. The fans have a right to demand better. Especially if they're actually paying Twickenham prices.
If they truly were married to the idea that the only thing that mattered was the world cup, as they seemed to for a long time, they should have had the guts to stick to that conviction.
They scrambled to get their (by all accounts) preordained candidate in and gave him a dodgy hand to kick off. A coach who doesn't actually have that much experience or pedigree, combined with a coaching staff with similarly light credentials. That was their gamble, which they had lots of time to assess.
Then we have the general malaise of the English system, much of which can be at least partially blamed on their leadership.
They get paid the big money to see beyond what the fans and media as squawking, and make the big calls. They're one of the biggest Unions in the world, with a big player-base.
Its one thing to have a bad patch, but essentially telling paying customers for years to put up with incompetence on the far from guaranteed promise that the end of the tunnel is coming (despite evidence to the contrary) is another.
At the risk of getting political, I can't help but draw parallels with the state of the country in general. The people have a right to demand better from the people in charge.