What does Churchill have to do with England playing against a country to whom they have never lost? The Mirror rugby correspondent explains
Listening to Mike Brown and Jack Nowell discuss this weekend’s Italy-England Six Nations clash made me think of Winston Churchill.
Their thoughts on England paying little heed to points difference in Rome on Sunday reminded me of something Britain’s wartime leader said about the dangers of history repeating itself.
“Those that fail to learn from history,” Churchill famously remarked, “are doomed to repeat it.”
What does this have to do with England playing a rugby match against a country to whom they have never lost, more than half a century after Churchill’s passing?
For the past two years England have missed out on the Six Nations crown not because they lost more games than the winner, nor even accrued fewer points.
They lost out to Ireland – on both occasions – because their points difference was marginally inferior. In 2014 the differential was 10, last year a mere six.
It figures then that when you play the least successful team in the championship you look to take maximum advantage in your quest to avoid completing the most agonising hat-trick of near misses?
“We won’t be thinking about points difference – we just want to win the game,” is Brown’s response. “If you win every game there’s no issues with that.”
Hmm. What about you, Jack?
“Win every single game and points difference doesn’t come in to it,” says the tattooed winger. “We’re not looking too far ahead.
“If we do get in to a lead, then we want to build on it, but we are not going to go into the game and just kick for the corner from under the posts or anything like that. First things first.”
This mantra of winning every game and everything will come up smelling of roses is fine in theory, only it has backfired for the past four years.
In 2012 a late defensive mistake against Wales, combined with the controversial non-award of an even later English try, cost Stuart Lancaster a Grand Slam in his first campaign – handing it to the Welsh instead.
The following season England again came unstuck against Wales before, in 2014, losing a solitary game to France and last season being beaten by Ireland.
The players’ caution is no doubt in part down to not wanting to be seen as arrogant by talking publicly about margins before the business of actually winning the game is achieved.
Thankfully that is not something which concerns their head coach Eddie Jones, who has demanded England “smack” Italy, and “give them a good hiding”.
The fact of the matter is that having only won by six points against Scotland – a team now winless in eight Six Nations matches – they need to make hay against Italy, beaten all but once in two-and-a-bit campaigns.
So at Stadio Olimpico on Sunday let’s hope for their sake they have Churchill in mind. Or for that matter the ‘anonymous’ author of this pearl.
“History repeats itself because no one was listening the first time.”
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