Former England fly-half Danny Cipriani said English rugby was “digging its own grave” following Saturday’s 29-10 defeat to Ireland.
The ex-Sale Sharks player criticised the national set-up on social media, saying it was being “led by people who do not understand the art of the game”.
Cipriani, 35, said its “outdated” traditions were “shackling the game”.
“If you’re trained to think and not to feel you’re always going to be one step behind,” he wrote on Twitter.
“English rugby is digging its own grave, led by people that do not understand the art of the game.
“It’s steeped in tradition and heritage, which is outdated and the very thing shackling the game.”
He was critical of coaching, which he said was never done with “game understanding, intelligence, spatial recognition or nuance”.
“It is all ‘how tough can I show to the world I am?’ Bravado. It will only ever bring a certain level of performance,” he added.
Steve Borthwick has led England to just three wins in eight matches since being appointed Eddie Jones’ successor as head coach last December.
The former Leicester coach led England to fourth place in this year’s Six Nations and his side conceded five tries in a comprehensive World Cup warm-up defeat by Grand Slam winners Ireland in Dublin on Saturday.
Borthwick also faces an anxious wait on a possible World Cup suspension for number eight Billy Vunipola, who was sent off against Ireland, while captain Owen Farrell also faces a hearing after picking up a red card in their previous warm-up match against Wales.
But while poor form and indiscipline has hampered England’s preparations for the World Cup in France, which starts on 8 September, Cipriani does not believe the blame rests solely on Borthwick’s shoulders.
“It doesn’t mean Borthwick isn’t right for the job,” he wrote. “He took over a very wooden system left by Eddie [Jones], which is a very tough job to get the players to unlearn what was ingrained in them.”
Cipriani, who claimed just one cap under Jones – the last of his 16 international appearances – believes the structure of English rugby, along with attitudes towards coaching and the game’s development, has to change before any England coach can succeed.
“[England need] open discussions where coaches welcome new ideas that feel uncomfortable to them because it’s the only way it will grow,” he wrote.
Cipriani argued that coaches should “build confidence in players’ decision making” rather than just teaching them to conform to a plan. He thinks they should have a vision that players want to follow “or have qualities that you admire” such as “knowledge, compassion, emotional intelligence, love, honesty and humility”.
