England vs Wales RWC 2015: What went wrong for the red rose and was Chris Robshaw to blame?

The England captain immediately took the blame for the defeat against Wales, but were there other factors that were at fault?

Chris Robshaw dejectedly walks down the Twickenham tunnel (Getty Images)

Is Chris Robshaw to blame for England’s demoralising defeat to Wales that leaves them scrapping for their Rugby World Cup future?

The England captain has borne the brunt of the criticism that followed the 28-25 defeat at Twickenham on Saturday night, and he owned up in the post-match press conference that the blame lay at his door for the last minute decision not to kick at goal that might have salvaged England a draw.

As it is, England have to beat Australia this weekend in order to keep their quarter-final hopes alive, or else risk early elimination from the ‘Pool of Death’ in the tournament that they are hosting.

But was Robshaw really to blame?

England should have won the match

Weigh up the situation. Trailing by three points, an attacking 5m scrum with less than two minutes on the clock and a fairly dominant pack. The odds were stacked in England’s favour even if Wales were leading, but to come away from the drive without a single point is criminal.

Broadcasters flash stats such as visits to the opposition’s 22 and points scored for a reason. These things are crucial, as not many teams will win games from kicking long-range penalties. The hard work had been done in winning a penalty inside enemy territory – and from all people it was Wales skipper Sam Warburton penalised – but a poor lineout call and execution gave Wales the easy tasks of shoving England’s pack in to touch.

If the team agreed to go for the try, it’s the right decision

What would it have said about Robshaw’s leadership if the team had elected to go for goal only for the captain to turn around and point at the posts. A lack of trust in his team, for starters, but also a complete breakdown in those he trusts out in the heat of the battle. If everyone is in agreement that going for the win is the right decision, then it’s the right decision.

Poor execution, not decision-making, cost England

The front of the lineout offers security in catching the ball – which Robshaw took on himself – but opens the door to being pushed into touch. England must have considered Wales not opposing the catch in order to ready themselves for the inevitable driving maul, so why didn’t England consider throwing further in-field to remove the chance of being driven out of play.

This doesn’t mean throwing to the tail and beyond. Simply going to the middle will have given them 10 metres to work with rather than the 5m they failed in. Rob Webber had been on for Tom Youngs for about 10 minutes when the crucial lineout came about, and despite not having the reputation for being the most accurate of throwers, he could still find a man unopposed from 10m – he’s paid to do so, after all.

It’s been forgotten that England were given a second chance

Wales took their own lineout and scrum-half Gareth Davies tried to box-kick clear, but he failed to move the ball outside of the 22. England had been given a reprieve and had one last chance to go for the win – or even a draw . The ball was taken cleanly off the top of the lineout to replacement scrum-half Richard Wigglesworth – and he dropped it.

Again, poor execution cost England, and this time Wales were able to take the ball from the resulting scrum and boot it into touch to claim a memorable victory. Players drop balls from time to time, that has to be accepted, but to drop the ball at such a crucial moment in the biggest game in four years and to then go unnoticed by the fans, media and critics is quite surprising to say the least. Robshaw showed broad shoulders to take the blame immediately; in a way it’s protected other players that were at fault.

Richard Wigglesworth was guilty of dropping the ball in the final minute (Getty Images)

England had the chance to put Wales on the brink of elimination

Execute the driving maul, score the try and suddenly it’s Wales on the brink of elimination. England had their own chances to go for victory, and the newspaper columns will have been filled with a glorious win for England, the coming of age of Robshaw and what next for Wales? If the carrot dangled it too tasty to resist, you’re going to go for it.

Previous mistakes should have taught them a lesson

Needing a try to win the game in the final minute should be familiar for the entire matchday squad bar Sam Burgess, given they went through the same in the Six Nations finale earlier this year. A 5m lineout, a catch and drive and one last shove to secure the 26-point advantage needed to beat Ireland to the title, only to see the French get their hands on the ball and brig the final whistle.

With the red rose suffering the same fate, it’s hard to assess why they haven’t learnt from the error of their ways. Setting up a strong, perfectly formed maul with the ball at the back of it has proven nigh-on impossible to stop during the current World Cup, yet England haven’t quite mastered how to form up when they have possession among the forwards. There was a time when England held a formidable rolling maul, but that appears to have disappeared from the repertoire these days.