All this "it's not the players' fault" stuff is true only to an extent.
I don't like players playing out of position. That's 1000% down to the coach.
The coach also sets the shape and strategy during training. Hopefully he listens to the senior players during that.
But the coach does not cross the whitewash. When the game starts the players have to react to what's happening in front of their noses, not what they hoped might happen during one of their interminable sessions at Pennyhill Park. If that means ripping up the script in the first half, so be it. Who were the big voices supporting Faz on Saturday? Who is bringing a "rugby brain" to bear?
Our Plan A has been found out. As yet I don't see a Plan B. And that's before you even start on selection.
Of course, devising Plan B is also down to the coach.
Whilst I agree with you, that the coach doesn't cross the whitewash, and the players need to be authorised, and be intelligent enough, to rip up the gameplan and devise a new one on the hoof - I think that's an ideal that suffered it's last throws 17 years ago.
Modern coaches will not allow such behaviour, and players will be disciplined / dropped, and told in no uncertain terms to trust the plan, to trust the procedures put in place for them. Consequently, players are not used to being allowed to do such things, and would be using mental muscles they've never exercised to do so. Quite apart from which, you still need a cohesive plan - there's no point in the FH inventing a new plan if the other 14 player on the pitch aren't on the same wavelength. If he looks like trying, then on come the watercarriers with messages to stop being a silly bugger, and if you do that again we've got someone else on the bench willing to do what they're told.
What you espouse is the Brian Ashton philosophy of empowering the players - 20 years ago, this was just about still working but only if the players were also working under guidelines from above, and were switching plans to a different, pre-agreed and trained plan.
11 years ago, the players revolted when empowered, and cried out for guidance, boundaries and play-books to details what each individuals has to do up to the 12th phase in any given area of the pitch. This includes those who already had 1 foot on the coaching ladder (Catt, Farrell) and who'd worked extensively with Ashton before (Borthwick, Barkley, Y2K remnants) and even his fellow coaches (Ford, Wells)
We're not quite up to American sports standards where they have a break and a bit of coaching after every play; but with water carriers bringing on messages, and often being member of the coaching staff - we're really not far off. The players have as much autonomy and say in the shape of the game as the pieces on a chess board - it's the coach who's moving them around and telling them where to go.
My solution would be to have neutral water-carriers; or at least, no form of communication between them and the coaching staff; so no way of getting messages onto the pitch. I can't see any current Prem or international level coach accepting a player who rips up the script in the first half, and allows them to stay on said pitch. I can't think of any current players who would be happy/comfortable doing so. I can't think of that many stars from the past who'd be happy ceding that much say to the coach.
) . Watson Takes Fall too high and Fall was going for the try so the penalty try is a possibility.
