Analysis: The borrowed tactics that Eddie Jones' England side will employ to fight their way back to the top of the rugby pyramid
“At all times we tried to think outside the square. If we were confronted with “that’s the way it is”, the first question would always be “why?” If it had been done before, “how could it be changed?” If it hadn’t been done before, “why couldn’t it be done?” There is always another way of doing things.” – Rod MacQueen
Just before the World Cup, Eddie Jones stated that the direction of rugby was continually evolving.
“The game keeps changing. I see this game now where it is basically a mixture of NFL and soccer. You’ve got the first three phases that are basically all power and precision. Then you have the kick-return game which then basically becomes football,” he explained.
We have to ask, why are the first three phases the most exploitable for an attack? Why is phase-play being reduced from the wonderful ten phases or more that we used to see to a glorified kick-chase game?
The reasoning is that defences are far better at countering opposition shapes. Pods, dummy runners and second-man plays, are by modern standards, easy to deal with.
This is thanks to the increased work rate of modern defences, as well as the extra analysis and practices that goes into preparing for a match. Whilst there may be minor differences from team to team, attacks are now all steeped in the same principles, and therefore only have a certain number of things to worry about.
When Joe Schmidt’s Ireland arrived, they introduced dynamics which were previously unused in the standard attacking practices of the game.
The above move flummoxed defences, as it presented unexpected pictures. It was a progression in the game and helped net Ireland their highest ranking in World Rugby.
By hiring Simon Amor, Neil Craig and Jason Ryles, England are now designing a game built around increased proficiency at unstructured attack, AFL kicking innovations and league style ruck defence.
This shows that in attack, England are gearing towards being able to thrive in unstructured scenarios, as well as having the best kicking game in the world while in defence, the side will be anticipating increased deception and funnel attacks.
Combine this with his fluid player positioning and we can see where Jones is looking to achieve his goal.
X-Run
X-runs are an old school Wallaby play originally developed by Rod MacQueen and his Wallabies.
They were incredibly effective, as they not only target defence on the individual level (as opposed to on a zonal level) but also make use of blockers to open the way for the strike runner.
Whilst they didn’t always come off, England have brought them back to target the hinge of the defensive line.
This hinge is an exploitable gap that can be targeted very intelligently with the X-run.
In the above scenario, George Ford has no slider or second man option to move the ball wide, instead, he has Tom Curry cutting in a standard scissors motion, with Jamie George on the inside running a hard line shown by the green arrow below.
This gap cannot be exploited with the inside pass but the X-run makes it possible. The blocking set of George Kruis and Courtney Lawes is designed to hold Jake Ball and Alun Wyn-Jones.
This brings up Rob Evans to put pressure on the first receiver, with Ross Moriarty rushing up with him, opening this gap.
This whole alignment was bait. The block is designed to extend this gap, we can see Lawes and Kruis looking back to see the effect.
Curry is meant to run the line, again holding Wyn-Jones and passing back to George, one of England’s more mobile carriers, running straight through the hole.
New Zealand shows the impact above, albeit with a slightly forward pass.
The X-run allows a player who was previously offside (George), to be put onside by the scissors option (Curry). The only way this could work otherwise is with a forward pass, as in New Zealand’s case.
Forax
Wallaby Prop Chris Handy referred to the game as a musical recital, with the forwards being piano lifters and the backs piano players.
Unfortunately, these traditions somewhat still exist today, with tight five forwards often being expected to do nothing other than scrum, jump, back pass and carry hard off the halfback.
MacQueen believed there was little difference between the role of each player outside of the set plays off scrums and lineouts. Each player now picked up the piano, carried it inside, wrote the music, and played it.
This led to “Forax” training in which the forwards and backs would combine together, with backs learning specialist skills like rucking, mauling and the “up the guts” role synonymous with the Brumbies under MacQueen.
By the 1999 World Cup final, MacQueen’s backs were fully comfortable with the high-pressure contact and rucking that the forwards traditionally had to execute in the Wallaby gameplan.
In contrast, forwards were instructed on the passing, kicking, playmaking and running required to attack the space created, offloading and passing to get the ball to Ben Tune.
The current pre-conception of forwards and backs stifles progress.
Limiting what the tight five can do limits your potential and overcoming this mindset accounted for the success the Wallabies made in these years.
This is why Jones feels the need for hybrid players is becoming more and more prevalent. We see Tom Curry acting as scrumhalf off scrum feeds.
Jack Nowell packing down at Flanker, Joe Cokanasinga at 8 allowing Billy Vunipola to strike the 10 channel – all of these positional changes are down to England’s goal to generate this breed of player and become more complete.
England forwards are also now kicking more than ever before.
This will appear as sacrilege to some coaches. Yet when no centre is available to kick and the option is on, having forwards who have the skill and the freedom to make this call, could prove invaluable.
England’s Kick Philosophy
Englands’ next major trump card, is directly related to the role of kicking within the modern game.
England’s kicking game is already highly developed. Off deep opposition restarts, number 8 Curry always fields and carries the ball into contact to gain momentum.
The ball needs to be recovered, which is why Curry is always supported by two front-rowers and two locks, to ensure quick and safe delivery of the ball.
The box kick follows shortly after, accompanied by two lines of chase to account for the counterattack and potential chip into space.
Against Wales, the exact same principle is followed.
Curry carries into contact, supported by two locks and two front-rowers. Only this time, the kick goes back for George Ford.
Ford clears it, with Farrell coming through as the chaser. This is to put his forwards onside and activate the chase.
It’s a very well-rehearsed and battle-proven strategy. However, all teams have restart strategies to exit their red zone.
The innovation that England may have launched and something from AFL, is the use of forward observers.
The FST
In the British Army, there is a role called the Fire Support Team (FST).
The role comprises of a small detachment of artillery specialists who are attached to an Infantry patrol, who will then coordinate indirect fire onto enemy positions should they be contacted by said rascals.
This proximity means they can bracket and fix the enemy with better accuracy.
If there’s a rugby take on this, it’s what England have been doing in winning their games of kick tennis. This philosophy may have been taken from their former attack coach, Scott Wisemantel.
Wisemantel’s theory detailed for the Sydney Morning Herald in 2009 is that the wingers and the fullback should play like three fullbacks and be the “eyes” of the backline.
He says one of their roles should be to communicate their reading of the game to the centres – the “ears” – who relay that information to the halfback and five-eighth to help them to make better decisions.
This chain system of communication could have been taken for England’s use to gain an advantage in their kicking game.
Colour-code calls
Going up the field, England colour code their kick-chase zones. If they follow the method employed by Eddie Jones’ Japan, this means the field is divided into three zones for their attacking kicks.
This is how the kicker is told where to kick to, what’s interesting, is how they are given the information to make the accurate choice for this.
England always provide a good chase or charge down option in the game of kick tennis, but the chaser’s job does not end with this.
The chaser can stay in the backfield for anywhere from 10-20 seconds, and this is for two main reasons:
1. To identify the best space into which the ball can be kicked.
2. To act as a support player should the counter attacker get through.
Here we see Maro Itoje fly up to pressure Romain Ntamack for the kick. This is not his only role as the chaser.
This information is passed back to the kicker and scanner set.
The scanner is a pre-requisite for the England kicking system. The kicker’s sole focus is fielding the kick, the scanner scans the backfield, looking for space and information passed back by the FST.
We see this with Ford directing George Furbank, the scanner provides valuable information to the kicker, who then acts upon the scanner’s instructions, making them more likely to win the kick battle.
This is an example of England’s contestable kick strategy.
Against Scotland, we see Ford (kicker) called by Elliot Daly (scanner). Ford kicks down K2, the best place due to the depth of the FST (Farrell) and the placement of England’s tall men.
This kick is then followed up by a good chase from the scanner, putting his tall men onside, and knocking the ball back into plenty of support.
Against Wales, we start to see the philosophy of feedback from the front coming in.
Dan Biggar makes the kick, and Daly comes back to inform Henry Slade K1 is the right option. This leads to Slade kicking into space.
Leigh Halfpenny has to scramble to regather, and Henry Slade follows up to ensure Halfpenny’s kick is made under pressure.
This means Slade takes the FST role, the kick is made back by Daly, who is informed of where space is by Ford, his scanner. This kick again finds space and puts England in a great field position to launch their attack upon the kick return.
Often, the kick goes up, and the chaser quickly follows, putting his players onside.
Should the kicker have baited the opposition, this means many of the England players will be upfield of a defence that has overextended itself.
We see May here, attempt to change his line and breakthrough, where if he had succeeded, he would have broken next to Charlie Ewels, putting him onside as a support option.
This shows steps that England are taking to advance their game. As a game, the structures of the union attack and what can be done, have stayed similar for too long. Sometimes a little unconventionality and outside the box thinking, is exactly what is needed.
In Englands’ case, it seems to be the priority.
Comments on RugbyPass
Billy's been playing consistently well for 2 - 3 seasons now and deserves a look in at the top level. Ioane and ALB are still first choice but there needs to be injury cover and succession. His partnership with Jordie gives him first dibs you'd think. Go the Hurricanes.
3 Go to commentsIt’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
2 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
28 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
1 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
1 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
2 Go to commentsLions might take him on if they move on Van Rooyen but I doubt he will want to go back, might consider it a step backwards for himself. Sharks would take him on but if Plumtree goes on to win the challenge cup they will keep him on. Also sharks showing some promising signs recently. Stormers and Bulls are stable and Springboks are already filled up. Quality coach though, interesting to see where he ends up
1 Go to commentsAnd the person responsible for creating a culture of accountability is?
3 Go to commentsMore useless words from Ben Smith -Please get another team to write about. SA really dont need your input, it suck anyway.
264 Go to commentsThis disgraceful episode must result in management and coach team sackings. A new manager with worse results than previous and the coaching staff need to coached. Awful massacre led by donkeys.
1 Go to commentsInteresting article with one glaring mistake. This sentence: “And between the top four nations right now, Ireland, France, South Africa, and New Zealand…” should read: And between the top four nations right now, South Africa, Ireland, New Zealand and France…”. Get it right wistful thinkers, its not that hard.
24 Go to commentsHow did Penny get the gig anyway?
3 Go to commentsNice write up Nick and I would have agreed a week ago. However as you would know Cale & co got absolutely monstered by the Blues back row of Sotutu, Ioane and Papaliti and not all of these 3 are guaranteed a start in the Black jumper. He may need to put some kgs before stepping up, Spring tour? After the week end Joe will be a bit more restless. Will need to pick a mobile tough pack for Wales and hope England does the right thing and bashes the ABs. I like your last paragraph but I would bring Swinton, Hannigan into the 6 role and Bobby V to 8
28 Go to commentsThe Crusaders can still get in to the Play Off’s. The imminent return of outstanding captain Scott Barrett and his All Black team mate Codie Taylor will be a big boost.There are others like Tamaiti Williams too. Two home games coming up. Fellow Crusader fans get there and support these guys. I will be.
2 Go to commentsCant get more Wellington than Proctor.
3 Go to commentsWhy not let the media decide. Like how they choose the head coach. Like most of us we entrust the rugby system to choose. A rugby team includes the coaches. It's collective.
14 Go to commentsHi NIck, I have been very impressed with him and he seems a smart player who can see opportunities which Bobby V _(who must be an international 6_) doesn’t see or have the speed to take advantage of. If he continues to improve and puts on 5kgs then he could be a great 8. He is a bit taller than Keiran Reid at 1.93m and 111 kgs, so his skill set fits his body size and who knows where it will lead. I hope the spate of Achilles tendon issues have been dealt with by the S&C people. It’s been a very long time since Mark Loane and Kefu stood out at 8. The question is will we be able to hold onto him, if he does make it he will be pretty hot property. I disagree with the idea of letting them go to the Northern Hemisphere and then bring them back.
28 Go to commentsBilly Fulton 🤣🤣🤣🤣 garrrmon not even close
14 Go to comments