Over the past few years the words of Michel de Montaigne have served me well. The French essayist assures us: “There are some defeats more triumphant than victories.”
I take them with me whenever I go to Billesley Common or Sixways and in recent seasons they’ve been quite useful at Twickenham too as England have spent much of the last decade flattering to deceive.
Yet there was no talk of a ‘brave effort’ nor ‘woulda, shoulda, coulda’ among the Red Rose players after Saturday’s defeat to New Zealand. The disappointment of players like Tom Wood and Joe Launchbury was tangible.
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Wood’s pain was particularly heartfelt. Minutes after the 30-22 loss the Coventry-born flanker said: “It’s pretty difficult to stomach... we didn’t come here to be brave losers or close runners-up, we came to win.”
Wood might as well have suggested Mssr de Montaigne take his triumphant defeats and shove them where le soleil ne brille pas. To me that represents progress.
For too long England have talked about competing with the southern hemisphere powerhouses rather than beating them and while they came up short this time, the change in mindset is important.
Indeed it is reminiscent of Clive Woodward’s approach. When he assumed control of the national team in 1997 Woodward instantly set his eyes on the very top of the mountain, a place occupied on a rolling basis by the All Blacks, the Springboks and Wallabies.
Even then it took six years and many painful defeats, no-one likes losing, least of all to a series of South African drop goals, before England managed to haul themselves to the summit.
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Since then standards and aspirations have been allowed to slip to the point where winning the Six Nations, which England and France should do 19 years out of 20, has been viewed as acceptable for a nation with the healthiest rugby infrastructure in the world.
What I like about Lancaster’s set-up is England have chosen to measure themselves not against Wales and Ireland but the old Tri Nations. It’s the only way they will win the 2015 Rugby World Cup.
Under Lancaster they have played South Africa four times, lost three and drawn one, while they are one-all with both Australia and New Zealand. And that is where de Montaigne has one toe on the right track by distinguishing between results and performances.
As disappointing as the result was, the England display was heartening – and not just the fact they came from 17-3 down to lead 22-20.
Before the game I had feared the 38-21 victory over the All Blacks in November 2012 had been something of a fluke, England on a very good day, catching the Kiwis on a very bad one. The ABs were out on their feet after a 12 month lap of honour and England both did a job at the breakdown and clinically finished off their chances.
But, outcome notwithstanding, last weekend showed England’s performance last year had not been a one-off. No-one disputes the 2013 All Blacks’ supremacy, nor their motivation, yet for more than a half they had an English lion by the tail and struggled to cope.
The home side dominated the ruck area once again, their offensive defence stifled the opposition and their set-piece more than held-up. Lancaster’s men showed they are well on their way up the mountain.
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At least the forwards are. In terms of game management and back-line penetration the English are still some way short of the peerless New Zealanders, indeed even the visitors’ front-five possess footballing and handling skills so sublime they compared favourably to England’s threequarters.
Individually some of them enhanced their reputations. Billy Twelvetrees has done well in the white heat of Test match rugby after an early slip against Australia. But when he did pick his way over the gain-line support for the off-load never materialised.
That after all, the ability to pass out of contact and the team culture to indulge the relatively risky strategy, is arguably the single biggest factor that separated the teams and that’s an entire coaching mindset not just one player’s instinct. England need to be more adventurous if they are to return to the top – and turn produce a long-awaited triumphant victory.