Are Wales becoming the new England?

Watching Wales play rugby over the last week or so, I was struck by the similarity of the level of performance to that of the English team at the Rugby World Cup. There is a lack of the teamwork and passion that were the hallmarks of the successful Welsh sides. Fortunately we have not yet had the off the field indiscipline that followed for England in New Zealand.

Do these observations look familiar?:

·         Professional teams and the Rugby Union at loggerheads.

·         Professional teams underperforming in the Heineken Cup

·         Senior players taking the money to play in France.

·         Players more worried about their wallets than taking care of business on the field.

·         An ex-player as head coach.

·         Loyalty to players who are obviously out of form.

·         The guys at the top seemingly out of touch with what is really going on.

I think you would agree that these points ring true in Wales. We could also add that we have the problem of low attendances at Regional level leading to lack of money.

At the same time England could be the new Wales with new found passion, belief and confidence after shedding a lot of dead wood. Is there a lesson in that?