Ellis Genge: 'Damned if you do, damned if you don't'

NEWS: Ellis Genge has hit back at England’s “out of touch” critics, claiming the negative response to a nail-biting Calcutta Cup victory “blew my mind”.

Steve Borthwick’s side have won their last two Guinness Six Nations matches by the skin of their teeth at the Allianz Stadium, squeezing past France 26-25 before edging Scotland 16-15.

They conceded three tries and scored just one at the weekend, drawing audible boos from the crowd and some tough words from the pundits. Vice-captain Genge has been left bewildered by the reaction, suggesting his side were not getting their due from the stands or on the airwaves.

“It’s like you are damned if you do, damned if you don’t. In the last 18 months, every time we have lost by a point, we have been slandered, and on the weekend we win by a point and it’s the same old story,” said the Bristol prop.

“It is difficult as a player to digest the fact that people were disappointed that we just won the Calcutta Cup back after five years. We won the game, but people are still upset about it. It blew my mind to be honest. There is a feeling there, let’s not be naive. You can feel it that people were booing when we were playing. I love the fans, they are brilliant, I go round clapping them after every game.

“But post-game the ex-players, recently retired and long retired, and people from years and years ago… I just can’t believe how out of touch they are. I am reading the spiel from people saying how off it we are. We won two games on the bounce, and you are upset about it, I don’t get it.

“It feels like we can’t win to be honest. That is how I feel. We lost to Australia (a 37-42 defeat last November) and everyone was like, ‘Brilliant, brilliant, look how they move the ball’. But we lost, so who gives a ****? Do you want to be part of a team that wins every single game by one point? Or would you rather be part of a team that loses every single week, 40 points to 39? I know what type of team I want to be.”

Genge’s passionate take came during the squad’s training camp in York, with around 7,000 fans awaiting them at an open training session at the LNER Community Stadium on Friday. While a strong turnout from the northern contingent of the fanbase could help build some bridges, things will be put to the test again next weekend when England host Italy for their penultimate game of the tournament.

France’s 73-24 win in Rome has set a difficult bar and raised expectations for that match, but Genge has warned not to expect the floodgates to open as a formality. “They beat Wales in Wales, they took a few scalps, so I don’t think they are a team that people think is a guaranteed win anymore,” he said.

“From the outside it might be, but we are definitely not preparing like that. For whatever reason, we can get a bit tense with the stakes of the game, and it probably prevents us from being as expansive as we want. Being able to box clever and being able to fight on the inside and the out, that is a strength of ours; being able to adapt.

“Sometimes the game is ugly and in the last three games we haven’t thrown the ball about and done what the fans want to see every week, but that is Test rugby.”