Six Nations win is essential to lift RFU gloom

Fourie, who was part of Martin Johnson’s pre-World Cup set-up until injury struck, says the feelings of discontent within and from outside the England rugby union camp are such that it will take a massive effort and a sizeable swing in on-field fortunes to repair the damage done in New Zealand.

English rugby plumbed new depths yesterday when three leaked reports laid bare the full story behind their catastrophic World Cup campaign.

The reports allege that some players were concerned about payment with captain Lewis Moody leading a delegation of senior players to dispute the amount of money the squad were to receive for playing.

The coaches come in for criticism while team manager Johnson was labelled as too loyal to the old guard and accused of failing to instil discipline.

Moody yesterday launched a staunch defence of his credibility and reacted angrily to the leaking of a report compiled by the Rugby Football Union, the Rugby Players’ Association, and the Aviva Premiership clubs; all those consulted believed they would remain anonymous.

Moody’s team-mate Fourie also disputed some aspects of the report, but did admit that the whole sorry saga was ‘shocking’ for English rugby.

“As an England player it doesn’t make you feel good,” he told the Yorkshire Post.

“It’s your team-mates that are getting attacked. It makes you feel a little sad. It should be a team environment and everyone should be working together.

“The whole thing is worrying.”

Former Leeds and Rotherham player Fourie was a member of Johnson’s initial World Cup squad and was poised to go to New Zealand until he picked up a shoulder injury in the final warm-up game with Ireland that ended his hopes.

Two days after that win in Dublin, Johnson’s men flew out, and the perception has been that it was then that all the trouble began with the bawdy nights out in Queenstown, the ‘ball-gate’ saga and a string of poor performances on the pitch culminating in their insipid quarter-final defeat to France.

But in yesterday’s report, there were claims from anonymous players that the divisions were already evident and that young players who trained hard were deemed “not cool” by their more experienced peers.

There were also allegations that pre-season training was badly managed and that England’s game plan was one-dimensional.

But Fourie, who won eight caps after debuting under Johnson in last year’s autumn internationals, countered: “Training for me was an enjoyable experience.

“When I played that last warm-up game against Ireland I felt as fit as I had for a long time.

“I don’t know what changed from the summer camps. But as as far as I am concerned all pre-season training should be tough.

“We were such a big group in the summer camps that I didn’t really see any divisions or anything like that. There didn’t seem to be any rifts.

“Game plan-wise, there’s always something you don’t agree with, but as players you get on with it.

“And if everybody is buying into it, it should work.”

Yesterday’s report is a damning indictment of English rugby, from the way the team conduct themselves to the way they are handled.

With no manager following Johnson’s resignation, a departing chairman and no chief executive, the Rugby Football Union would appear in meltdown.

The governing bodies came out on the offensive yesterday in defence of the accusations.

Rugby Players’ Association chief Damian Hopley branded the leaking of the confidential World Cup reports “an absolute disgrace” and demanded an investigation to track down the source of the leak, while the RFU admitted to being “disappointed” and “frustrated”.

Fourie hopes to be a part of England’s elite player squad when that is announced in the new year ahead of the Six Nations, and if he is, he acknowledges a lot of bridges have to be mended with the public.

He said: “The only way we can fix this now is to play winning rugby and win the Six Nations. That is the only way we will be able to rectify everything.

“I’m still as keen as ever to play and I want to be part of the team that tries to mend these wounds in the Six Nations.

“I want to build a new team and help foster a new team spirit.”

Rob Andrew is reported to have written in the RFU report: “Some of the senior players were more focused on money rather than getting the rugby right.”

One player is reported to have reacted to England’s quarter-final defeat to France by saying: “There’s £35k just gone down the toilet”.

Hardly anyone escapes the review with their reputation intact. The coaching regime, other than scrum specialist Graham Rowntree, comes in for strong criticism.

The Professional Game Board, which runs elite rugby in England, are due to make recommendations based on the reports’ conclusions to the RFU board on November 30.