Will England ever dominate the world of rugby again?

In the aftermath of the 2011 Rugby World Cup the future of the English Rugby team looked bleak, desolate and in terms of the Rugby Football Union (RFU) anarchic. The RFU has undoubtedly endured prolonged times of turmoil, though for half a dozen months now it has undoubtedly reached it's peak and is the laughing stock of sporting governing bodies. 

 A calamitous English side returned home to a scathing nation who demanded so much, yet received oh so little. Their off-field antics dominated the headlines as their on-field performances were just so dire and inept after being knocked out to a poor French side in the quarter finals. The French themselves had lost to the might of Tonga, population 104,058, who's entire participation at the event was in jeopardy due to issues over funding and in fact players had to rely partly on donations (1. http://tvnz.co.nz). This is a far-cry from the millions funneled into the French Domestic league and National side,however 'Les Bleus' are not facing a disarrayed RFU or wholesale changes to their relatively settled squad.

With the Six Nations on the horizon, you may be forgiven for not remembering England's triumph which seems a very distant and forgotten memory, though in reality just 8 months have passed since then from the World Cup, when former England manager Martin Johnson's men were lifting the coveted Six Nations Trophy. What a monumental difference less than a year can make.

Is there a way to turn the tide?

Stuart Lancaster 

Interim coach Stuart Lancaster believes so. By injecting the squad with copious amounts of emerging and youthful athletes. A total of 15 players included in the Six Nations provisional  2 man squad were not on the plane in the disastrous campaign to New Zealand and 13 players from the unsuccessful touring party have been ejected, most notably Mike Tindall, Nick Easter and Mark Cueto.

Lancaster emphasized they were embarking on a 'a new era for English rugby' and giving 'players the opportunity to be part of the journey for 2015'. (2. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport). Bold words from the Interim coach who may yet be superseded after this year's Six Nations.
His confidence is echoed by U-20 coach Rob Hunter who insists the 'Red Rose has never had it so good as he heads into the RBS 6 Nations with a squad packed full of Premiership experience'.
(3. http://www.rbs6nations.com). His point is justified in England's impressive run to the 2010 IRB Junior World Championship semi-finals, runner up in the 2011 edition where 17year old star fly half George Ford at the age of just 17 won the accolade of IRB junior player of the year award (4. http://en.wikipedia.org) and to top it all off they have accumulated two Grand slams in four years in the U-20 Six Nations.
(5. http://www.rbs6nations.com). Undoubtedly these are encouraging signs that England may be top of the rostrum again in the not so distant future.

Their optimism, however, may not be shared by the English rugby public as six out of seven English clubs failed to qualify for the knockout stage of the Heineken Cup which was the joint worst collective showing by English teams in the tournament's history (6.http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport). Compare this to English teams heyday where from 1999-2004 Heineken Cup triumphs were recorded four times on five occasions, so perhaps this is an indication that for the foreseeable future, England rugby won't be basking in multiple successes let alone dominate world rugby.(7.http://www.ercrugby.com).  

The days of Clive Woodward's all conquering England are long gone, but will they be seen again?

With back to back wins over Australia and then a Six Nations triumph, there was widespread optimism over England returning to the big time, before being brought back down to earth with a thump in the World Cup. 

England's all conquering 2003 World Cup Winners

It is difficult to compare sides and era's even from a decade ago. The game, in a professional sense, has progressed in leaps and bounds since then in terms of defences, physical and mental preparation, conditioning, nutrition and so on and so forth (8.http://www.speakerscorner.co.uk).
Perhaps the constantly disciplined and exemplary England side of 2003 would beg to differ, as several England players questionable activities at the World Cup, most notably Mike Tindall, James Haskell and the prolific Chris Ashton who's off field actions (9.http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport) may hamper his England career with the disciplinarian Lancaster in charge. There are maybe a few too many prima donna's in the side that won't be tolerated by the new set up which is highlighted by excluding Danny Care and Delon Armitage for their drink driving and assault offences respectively.

A rebuilding process is currently in progress as it was back in 1997 with the appointment of Clive Woodward which completely radicalized the face of English Rugby from an amateur outfit into well-drilled and prime specimen athletes. By transforming the traditional practices of previous set-ups, introducing business principles, setting long term goals, paying attention to detail and planning the personal development of individuals in the basic skills, tactics and strategy of modern rugby, England were slowly but surely converted into the best team in the World from 2002-3. (10.http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport).
Nowadays over half a dozen countries have taken this even further with New Zealand leading the way. The hangover from 2003 it seems may have finally gone with the great servant of English rugby, Johnny Wilkinson, finally hanging up his boots giving the younger generation their own chance to shine but do they have the potential to be world beaters?

Graham Henry recently stated 'England are the World Champions at wasting talent' and the problem with English rugby goes as deep as the coaching of youth and club players to be too negative and not "Getting over the gain line from first phase". (11.http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport). The World Cup winning coach, not known for being outspoken, stinging attack on English rugby has highlighted a key issue, the breakdown. This must be addressed by Lancaster and his new coaches to allow quick ball and unleash the potentially exciting English back line littered with new faces which may inject a new lease of life or crash and burn which will see Lancaster's short reign come to an end.

England do have 'potential' but at the moment it is just that. A poor Heineken cup showing this season hasn't helped although this year's Six Nations will give a good indication of firstly, how this new look England side will perform (what brand of rugby) and how effectively they will perform. Secondly, whether or not Lancaster's zero tolerance approach will pay dividends and grant him the task of leading England on the road to the 2015 World Cup. This year's competition isn't the be all and end all, but newly appointed captain Chris Robshaw will be itching to silence the doubters, in this wide open competition.

England are a sleeping giant, according to South African World Cup winning coach Jake White (12.http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport), and I for one agree with him. The gap between the Northern and Southern Hemisphere has narrowed, due to recent exploits in the World Cup, however there is still a clear gulf in quality, so can anyone bridge that gap? I believe England can, though not for the foreseeable future but fancy their chances over the the perpetual, mercurial French who are capable of the brilliant one moment and then are abysmal the next. Ireland's golden generation are ageing and it seems the youthful and exuberant Welsh side are the most likely to make an assault on the summit of the game.

Maybe Martin Johnson's all conquering side of almost a decade ago may never be seen again, it is too soon to say, although my gut feeling is that they will and when 2015 comes a calling this new side will be genuine contenders. Nevertheless it is an extremely long process becoming number one, as England cricket can testify to, and where the manager has to be given perhaps two World Cups as Clive Woodward was to see their plans come to fruition.
England can do it but it is easier said than done. 

References:
1) http://tvnz.co.nz/rugby-world-cup/irb-threatens-tonga-sanctions-4363986
2) http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/article-2084879/Six-Nations-2012-England-squad-revealed.html
3) http://www.rbs6nations.com/en/19883.php
4) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IRB_Junior_World_Championship
5)  http://www.rbs6nations.com/en/championship-information_trophies_u20s.php
6)  http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/16674650
7)  http://www.ercrugby.com/eng/heinekencup/
8)  http://www.speakerscorner.co.uk/file/6254646af8c83cf7f1f806c0dc740a7a/sir-clive-woodward-motivation-leadership-teamwork-sport-peak-performance.html
9) http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/international/england/8803550/Rugby-World-Cup-2011-England-wing-Mark-Cueto-defends-team-mates-after-horrendous-off-field-coverage.html
10)  http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2003/nov/21/rugbyworldcup2003.rugbyunion
11) http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2012/jan/29/graham-henry-england-waste-six-nations?newsfeed=true
12)  http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/15910289