Carling: Misbehaving players ‘an insult to the shirt’

WILL CARLING has branded certain England players’ behaviour during the World Cup as “an insult to the shirt”.

England exited the tournament 11 days ago, but former captain Carling remains furious about a campaign when Johnson’s squad at times became a laughing stock.

“I just think the values system seems to have been lost in the England team, and I am not sure where it has gone.

“I hope whoever forms the new coaching team sits back down with these players and some of the players grow up a wee bit and understand the honour of putting on that shirt.

“A lot of them, the way they behaved down here in New Zealand was an insult to the shirt. I am not being funny, but to blame the media is an easy excuse.

“There is part of the media that love that (type of story), but there is a naivety to actually give them (the papers) a chance to start going down that line. I didn’t see what was wrong with guys going to a bar and having some beers. I don’t have an issue with that at all, and I don’t think anyone ever would.

“Some of the other stuff, it was naive and it was stupid, but the day rugby players cannot go out in public to a bar and have a beer, that’s a very sad day. The rest of it was naive and irresponsible, and you can’t defend it. The majority of the guys didn’t get involved in anything stupid, but all it takes is four or five of them.”

Carling, speaking in Auckland in his capacity as a Heineken World Cup ambassador, believes Tuilagi’s ferry leap was a particularly crass action.

“Jumping into the harbour at the end of a World Cup is just stupid,” he added.

“If you are here on a tour or on holiday, then fine, if that’s what you want to do. At the end of a World Cup campaign that hasn’t been successful, that has been blighted by poor media (for the squad), you just think ‘Jesus’.’’