Like all those with a passion for English rugby, Joe Worsley has been left concerned not only by the national team’s struggles, but also the problems in the country’s domestic game.
After all, Worsley’s former club Wasps – with whom he won four Premiership titles and two European crowns – were one of three sides to fall into financial oblivion last season.
The outlook is bleak. After a campaign of turmoil, England’s preparations for the World Cup – which begins in France next week – have seen Steve Borthwick’s side hit new lows.
A first defeat by Fiji was the nadir. Worsley, a 2003 World Cup winner, will be part of this year’s tournament as an assistant coach with ambitious Georgia.
He knows French rugby well, too.
Former England Rugby World Cup winner Joe Worsley sat down for an exclusive interview with Mail Sport
England have endured torrid preparations ahead of the Rugby World Cup getting underway
The former tough-tackling back-row spent 10 years working in France’s TOP14 with Bordeaux and then Castres. His experience and perspective having been both sides of the Channel is fascinating. ‘We’ve got a situation at the moment where the national team is not performing as well as we want it to and we’ve got the clubs in trouble too,’ Worsley told Mail Sport.
‘No-one’s got an answer or a vision. It does drag down people’s spirits about where English rugby is at and when you flip it over to France, everyone’s incredibly excited about this World Cup.
‘It’s a nightmare for my friends getting tickets over there. They’re pestering me all the time! There is similar excitement for many other countries.
‘England is at the bottom of that right now. At some point, we’ll come back around again. Some English people can be very down about are how things are.’
Worsley is yet to work in English rugby as a coach. He is keen to spend time in New Zealand to become a more rounded leader and experience another sporting environment.
But returning to the Premiership or the England set-up one is something that interests him despite all the recent problems.
‘People talk about how the England team is playing,’ Worsley said.
‘It’s been interesting for me to be back in England a lot more recently and see how players are coached compared to what I’m used to in France. Some areas are better, some are worse.
Worsley has worked in France and believes there is huge excitement around the French team at the World Cup
Worsley (right) was part of England’s World Cup winning team in 2003
‘The England team is not going to change overnight. There’s been a lot of inertia in the last 10 years about how they’ve been coached and developed. The players who come into the England team are already in a state where you can’t suddenly alter that radically.
‘But 10 years ago, you wouldn’t have said French rugby is thriving. Things can change.
‘What they (French players) are capable of doing is deviating from a plan and adapting much better than your average Anglo player. They’ve got more autonomy to do that because of the culture, how they’re coached, and how they’re brought up. We are very much slaves to our plan.
‘Historically, French teams are terrible at the organisational structures you need that we’re very good at in England.
England head coach Steve Borthwick is under pressure heading into his first World Cup
‘If you don’t get those right, you’re not going to be at the race internationally.
‘Now, France are good there. They’ve had people like Shaun Edwards lift them up organisationally. But then they’ve got this other side which is led by the Toulouse players where when an opportunity arises from, they drop the hammer. They all recognise it and go for the jugular.
‘It’s what makes their rugby really exciting to watch – that change in tempo.’
Former England head coach and Borthwick’s predecessor Eddie Jones lamented the failure of the country’s players to be able to react to pressure. Jones caused controversy by appearing to blame that on the fact many of his squad was privately educated. He was soon shown the exit door.
Worsley said: ‘We’re going to get into philosophy and ontology of what you think about the world now! In all Anglo countries, including Australia, we like organisation and certainty.
‘You could argue the Anglo way of thinking has been very much dominant around the world for centuries. Other countries think differently in some areas and sometimes, that helps.’
Worsley is now assistant coach of exciting Georgia national team who could be one of the surprise packages at the World Cup
Worsley has seen outside the English rugby bubble and wants to help his country for whom he won 78 caps in its most successful period.
‘Certainly, at some point, I’d love to do it,’ he said, when asked about a coaching role with either England or in the Premiership.
‘I’d love to go to another country like New Zealand and get some experience down there. But I’ve never worked in England properly. I’ve been out of it for 10 years. French rugby is huge.
‘There are three fully professional leagues. Then you come back to England and see the contraction going on. Someone needs to come up with a vision pretty soon and have the political clout to take everyone towards that. It’s needed. It’s heartbreaking what happened to Wasps.
‘It’s a club I joined at 16. It was a huge part of my life. I was part of a team that won a lot of trophies. To see it die has been painful.’
Worsley (second from right) was a Premiership winner with Wasps and is eager to coach in England in the future
But, like many, Worsley (right) is concerned by the struggles English rugby is going through
Worsley’s future remains unclear. But his present is with Georgia, who have designs on toppling one or two of Jones’ Australia, Wales or Fiji – the three big teams in Pool C.
‘For our games to go the way we want them to, it will require us playing better than we’ve ever played before,’ Worsley said of Georgia, who beat both Italy and Wales in 2022.
‘But if we’re a few per cent off, all those games could go the wrong way. It’s that kind of World Cup and that’s why I’m so excited about this event.
‘Honestly, if we play under our level we could have a very bad World Cup. But it’s also very exciting thinking about what we could do.’
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