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"YOU can't win Test matches when so many players are trying their best to lose them."
Click here to read John Ledger's World Cup breakfast briefing.
Malcolm Reilly is not a man who likes to mince his words. As diplomatic as he would like to be, Reilly simply cares too much to fall back on clichs and platitudes when reflecting on England's calamitous World Cup campaign.
The miserable showing of Tony Smith's team during their four-week trial Down Under hurt everyone who has an interest in the health of the sport in this country but few people felt the pain as acutely as the man who has gone closest in the last 36 years to ending Australia's all consuming dominance.
With Reilly at the helm as coach, Great Britain went within a whisker of a World Cup final win in 1992, the same year the Lions went agonisingly close to returning from Australia with the rugby league Ashes.
The gap between the two countries had shown promising signs of continuing to close in the years that followed Reilly's departure in 1994 but on the evidence of the World Cup, England are light years behind Australia.
"I am not being critical because I know from experience how difficult it is but on a scale of one to 10 this England team performed to a five and that's it simply," said Reilly.
"We made far too many errors, a lot of unforced errors and you can't win games when people are going out there and trying their best to lose them."
Now resident in Newcastle, New South Wales, Reilly describes his occupation as "retired" but the former Castleford, Halifax, Huddersfield and Leeds coach is still working part time as a personal fitness trainer.
Famed as one of the most competitive and talented players of his generation, Reilly looks trim and conditioned and still has that special aura which is often found in great sportsmen.
His success in coaching Newcastle Knights to a grand final victory in 1997, allied to the reputation he acquired as a player with Manly – whom he joined after helping the Lions win the Ashes for the last time in 1970 – has established Reilly as a universally respected figure throughout Australia where his views on the World Cup have been frequently sought over the last few weeks.
"I was involved for a lot of years and we had some really close Test series and World Cups," he said. "We would have got them in 1992 but Steve Renouf got outside Alan Tait and they beat us 10-6 at Wembley.
"The teams back then were very evenly matched and I think things have gotten away from us.
"Australia have improved dramatically in defence, they work so hard for each other. The NRL is defence dominated and Super League offence orientated.
"The really top clubs like Melbourne and Manly have some really outstanding footballers as well and I think England have been shocked at how quick and athletic the outside backs are.
"They defend every ball to the last metre, they are so confident and can make fools of you, as England found out in the World Cup."
Reilly believes the key to Australia's success lies in the greater number of players their selectors have to choose from and the representative experience those elite players gain from playing in the State of Origin matches between Queensland and New South Wales.
"Australia have a distinct advantage with State of Origin – it's a great opportunity for the players to bond and interact with each other, which is something the England players don't have," said Reilly.
"It's really hard, competitive football and the result is a national team which is a very competitive outfit.
"I think we came in underdone. Sometimes England looked like they hadn't played together – the first game against Australia was a prime example.
"They had some opportunities but time and again the ball went to ground.
"Defensively we held our line but you can't stand off Australian or New Zealand defences, you have to get in their faces, take time away from them and pressurise them into making errors as they did with us."
Reilly believes the only way for England to raise the bar is to increase the sport's participation levels and give greater opportunities to the best young players.
"First and foremost we have to stop importing Australian players in such quantity," he said. "There are some very good Australian players going over there but too many clubs have average Aussies holding spots which should be occupied by good English juniors.
"There has to be the right amount of investment to turn the promising juniors into great athletes and great footballers.
"There is a lot of competition from other sports and we have to push the boat out by getting more young people playing the game. Junior development is vitally important."
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Sunday 12 February 2012
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