Martin Johnson, England’s World-Cup winning skipper, believes there is no huge mystery to being a great captain. “If you haven’t got a good team it doesn’t matter how good a captain you are,” he said on the Rugby Legends podcast before the start of this year’s Six Nations. And if anyone is qualified to provide such a definitive judgment it is unquestionably him.
To suggest that calm, sure-footed leadership is irrelevant in top-level sport, however, is another matter. Even the greatest sides need decisive, intelligent direction, regardless of who supplies it. The other imperative is to have everyone pulling in the same direction. Shared responsibility and collective ownership are everything, particularly in rugby where the all-for-one, one-for-all ethos is fundamental.
Hence why the public on-field spat between Maro Itoje and his fly-half Fin Smith early in the second half of England’s 23-18 defeat in Rome has raised eyebrows. England were ahead 12-10 and had just won a scrum penalty near the Italian line. Immediately it felt like a revealing moment: would they kick for the posts or, in search of potentially greater reward, double down on their momentum, go to the corner and set up a close-range lineout drive?
Jamie George, England’s former captain, held up three fingers to Itoje to indicate his preference. Ellis Genge, however, feigned to take a quick tap before appearing to suggest, with a smile, that they should kick to the corner. When Smith also double-checked the call, Itoje’s patience snapped. “Don’t argue with me, take the three!” he screamed at his young fly-half.
If ever there was a snapshot of the heightened pressure of Test rugby this was surely it. Itoje is not a habitual screamer; indeed, Steve Borthwick specifically cited his measured demeanour when he promoted the lock to the captaincy. “It struck me that Maro thinks really well under pressure,” stressed the head coach. “He stays calm under pressure.”
Less so at the weekend. Happily for all involved, Smith subsequently nailed the kick, with Itoje making a point of congratulating him as they ran back for the restart. Creative tension is part and parcel of any team sport. But the episode was symptomatic of the contradiction within this England team. Are they a side who really do want to play “big” and have the courage of their convictions? Or are they primarily just looking to play the percentages? And, either way, are they all singing from the same hymn sheet?
There could hardly have been more of a contrast with Scotland’s vibrant performance against France. As predicted in these pages, Scotland chose to go for it at maximum warp factor. There was much more to their remarkable 50-40 victory than gung-ho risk-taking but, equally, they placed full trust in their half-backs and midfield to take the game to a startled France.
And when you think about it, there is a simple explanation for that. Their captain, Sione Tuipulotu, is a centre rather than a lock forward. His coach, Gregor Townsend, was also a creative back as a player. Finn Russell, finally, is being empowered to whirl the conductor’s baton. Scotland are not stopping for committee meetings or waiting for instructions from their front five or the coaching box.
Which backs up the importance of the captain-coach dynamic in terms of defining a side’s identity. England in 2003 had Johnson at the heart of their indomitable pack but what helped them to become a fully rounded side was the restless mind of Clive Woodward, who sought to change English rugby’s mentality and won a World Cup off the back of it.
England’s other most successful long-term captain just happened to be another centre: Will Carling. Who are the architects of France’s compelling new approach, notwithstanding Saturday’s Murrayfield meltdown? Fabien Galthié and Shaun Edwards, both quick-witted half-backs in their playing days. What position did Italy’s excellent head coach, Gonzalo Quesada, fill for Argentina? Fly-half.
As proved by the innovative Rassie Erasmus, it is not a totally universal truth. Many celebrated captains and coaches from yesteryear were also forwards, ranging from John Eales, Richie McCaw and John Smit to Jean-Pierre Rives, Bill Beaumont and Willie John McBride. But that was then. As the modern game speeds up, an eye for calculated risk is fast becoming more important, even for South Africa with their redoubtable pack and powerful foundations.
This is not instantly compatible with Borthwick’s more methodical approach. And while Itoje’s contribution to the national side over the past decade has been remarkable, the skipper has had an exceptionally intense 12 months. Captaining a victorious British & Irish Lions tour in Australia, getting married and losing his mother would be a huge emotional load even without his high-profile playing roles for club and country.
It is through this unique prism that his latest yellow card in Rome, his second of the tournament, and the Smith rebuke must ultimately be viewed. From the outside, even so, Itoje looks as if he would benefit from a rest, as much mentally as physically. Giving him the summer off with a view to him being at his peak for next year’s World Cup would appear sensible.
But in that event, who leads Borthwick’s England out in the opening games of the inaugural Nations Championship instead? And beyond the familiar voices of George, Genge and the increasingly influential Ollie Chessum, all front-five forwards, where are the backline leadership candidates who are either guaranteed first-choice picks or equipped to grab the team by the lapels? Aside from George Ford, dropped for Italy, or the 34-year-old Owen Farrell, there are not a million of them.
To return to Johnson’s truism, it makes scant difference who captains a struggling team short on confidence. But if this gripping Six Nations has highlighted anything it is the value of enlightened leadership, empathetic coaching and encouraging players to be themselves rather than straitjacketed hostages to someone else’s stubbornly rigid gameplan. England, in that regard, are playing catch-up.
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