Captain Carling's rugby ramble

FOR those who can, set your minds back to a different time in international rugby.

A time before the professional player, before salary caps, the Millennium Stadium, and of course Jonny.

The astute voice of Bill McLaren was in full swing, six nations were in fact five, and a certain Will Carling would lead his England side to their first back to back Grand Slams for sixty-seven years.

Separated by a world cup final appearance at Twickenham in ‘91, and followed by yet another Slam and another world cup run in ‘95, the success of England under Carling’s reign can only be topped in modern times by the exceptional achievements in 2003.

The man with the top job then was Martin Johnson, a captain of different circumstance to Carling, but a talisman of similar acclaim.

Courier Sport had the pleasure in speaking exclusively with the outspoken William Carling – OBE before I forget – discussing his romance with English Rugby, the time he became a Lion, and spending his post-match retirement living in a virtual clubhouse.

“My ambition was never to captain England” Carling said.

“I just wanted to play for my country, so when manager at the time Geoff Cooke rang to ask if I wanted the job, my first assumptions were that he must be joking. “No, really Will” was his response, which I found very bizarre since I was only 22 with little experience of playing for England.

“I played in a good England team, that’s why it was so successful. I would probably say, out of the three, my favourite Grand Slam would have to be the first one in ’91. The others were good, but at the time the relief just to beat the French and to play well without any issues, that’s what made it so special.

“As a captain in those days I had a lot more input in selection and team building compared to the likes of Johnson and others more recently.

"In today’s game more back-room staff are hired for precisely those jobs, leaving the captain to play rugby. In that sense I feel I had to be a more vocal captain than those after me. That there is a big difference between the amateur and professional eras for sure.”

Deliberation over the manner in which England took to the Twickenham field in the 1991 World Cup final does conjure up questions of the team’s leadership.

Losing to Australia at the final hurdle after a change in game plan that saw England turn to a more expansive tactic, you would have thought those involved may regret looking back on the day, especially the captain.

This is not the case however as Carling goes on to explain what happened 18 years ago as purely a question of hind-sight.

“People forget that we toured Australia that summer and got whacked 40 points to 15.

"When it came to the final we all decided to sit down for a bit and come up with a different way of playing them (away from the usual English forwards method). If we had taken our chances on the day we would have won. There are definitely no regrets, we just didn’t take our chances.

“The quarter-final win over Australia in ’95 was one hell of a game. It was nice to avenge them after that final, but then again you could say to what end if we were going on to lose to New Zealand in the semi anyway.

“New Zealand had a very good side,” Carling continued. “Jonah Lomu was a great player. In ’99 he was good, but nowhere near the player he was in 1995. If you put two or three on him to slow him down, you’d just end up leaving holes everywhere else.

“Zinzan (Brooke) reminds me almost every day about that drop-goal, especially as I was the one to kick him the ball in the first place. To be fair to him it was just such a ridiculous kick. It was a massive strike. He does love it.”

A Lion in the tour of New Zealand in ’93, Carling can look back on his career and say he is part of a special group of people, a select few to ever wear the prestigious shirt.

The hype of the Lions tour that comes along only every four years is back again this summer, and who better than an actual Lion to guide us through this year’s squad selection, made public in the week.

However, in old Will Carling fashion, the man does enlighten us first of all with his own unique experience of being a Lion.

“Well, I played shite didn’t I?” said in a brutally honest temper. “I would’ve liked to go on a Lions tour when I was in some form.

"The Lions is such a unique concept, and is a very bizarre experience. I thoroughly enjoyed it but was just disappointed that I didn’t perform the way I could.

“Going on a Lions tour is very bizarre. When you play for your club and national team, you know the drills, you know the game plans, and you can in some way settle into your comfort zone.

"With the Lions you can’t. You must go into them with the right frame of mind, and if you do, they are just an incredible experience.

“I am disappointed at the absence of Tom Croft in this summer’s tour, and I do feel Delon Armitage was a little unlucky not to make the cut. But, you know, there are a couple of good fullbacks going.

“As for Croft, I honestly thought he would start the test game. He’s good in the lineout and would be perfect on the hard-fast grounds in South Africa.

“You do have to be physical in South Africa as well. If you don’t compete with them in the front-five you are going to struggle. I think McGeechan has done a pretty good job in his selection, he’s got it pretty close for sure.”

In Carling’s non-playing days, he finds himself heavily involved in rugby still. Running his own hospitality business Will Carling Management Ltd, he is able to put a different spin on rugby, hosting functions post-match with some of the biggest names in rugby, bridging the different generations to have mastered the sport.

The Rucku.com fan-site is also a project Carling has taken on, an amusing way to keep up to date with rugby topics and debate, and include a bit of banter along the way.

Carling explains “It’s a rugby bar-stroke-clubhouse where guys can just have a laugh really. It’s a site where you can have a bit of banter, some slander, keep up to date with a bit of news, watch a few rugby videos, and basically have a good craic.”

The no-nonsense approach to rugby talk is what Carling and co. like.

The thought of giving their former rugby colleagues a bit of jip while talking rugby over a pint seems the perfect combination.

The belief that somewhere preserved inside, everyone still has the excitable boy who began his days playing the sport.

While keeping rugby light-hearted, more will surely want to follow it.