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Analysis: Why the Wallabies need to play Kurtley Beale at 12 against England

By Ben Smith
Kurtley Beale

What a difference a few months can make.

England’s 3-0 whitewash over the Wallabies in Australia last June was a dramatic turnaround of fortunes for the side that was unceremoniously eliminated from the World Cup pool play in 2015.

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Eddie Jones had seemingly masterminded the turnaround of England in less than a year, and after losing to Australia in the RWC pool match this tour was sweet revenge. England continued the reversal with their fourth consecutive win over in the November test last year.

However, one man was missing from all of that – Kurtley Beale.

His return to the Wallabies this year has been nothing short of sublime. Beale presence at 12 gives Australia more balance in attack, taking playmaking pressure off Foley and giving the Wallabies a world-class two-pronged attack alongside Israel Folau.

“Kurtley is the most wonderfully gifted player. He does things other players don’t even dream of,” praised England coach Eddie Jones.

“He’s got that ability to make that big play. His stint at Wasps has aided him, he’s become a lot more professional, a lot more consistent.

“He just adds that extra dimension that you don’t know where he’s going to turn up in attack, you don’t know what he’s going to do and he does it with skill, he does it with pace, he does it with precision and a smile on his face.’

With Folau rested for the end of year tour, Beale has been playing fullback. However, if Australia is going to reverse their recent results against England they need to revert him back to the jersey where he’s done the most damage – 12.

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The White Wall

England’s revival and success down under against Australia last year was based on one key factor more than anything else – defence. Owen Farrell’s golden boot was a close second.

England’s defensive system successfully absorbed an enormous amount of pressure from the Wallabies. In the first test of the series, England held just 36 per cent of possession, they were outscored four tries to three, out-run 454 metres to 311 and out-carried 134 to 67 – but won the match 39-28.

Even more impressive – England’s second test 23-7 victory was won off an astoundingly low 29 per cent of possession. England doesn’t need the ball to win. They play defence and territory.

The system

England keeps its defensive line condensed with short spacing. They often leave space outside the 15 metre lines on the edges, and operate almost exclusively on ‘zero’ ruck contests. That is, they barely ever commit anyone to contest the breakdown – and when they do, players like Maro Itoje only seem to strike at opportune times.

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The benefit is two-fold: England’s defensive line is often set early with as many bodies as possible (giving them a numbers advantage) and reduces any possibility of giving away ‘piggy-back’ ruck penalties.

England can sustain large waves of phases and still generate line speed by setting early.

Below we can see only one English body (the tackler) on the ground, short spacing across the field and space is given on the edge.

England’s ‘zero’ ruck defence. Haskell is the only English player involved along with three Australians.

Folau is Batman – Beale is Robin

One of the key aspects of Beale playing 12 is he often takes over control of first receiver from Foley. He has the nous to identify space on the fringes and move the ball, knowing exactly when to release Folau.

In Bledisloe III, Beale ensured Folau had the ball when opportunities were presented on the edge. This eventually led to Folau’s crucial try right before halftime.

Video Spacer

One of the failings of Foley last year was his inability to make the right decision, illustrated twice in this piece of play from the second test against England.

Foley receives the ball after 11 phases, with England stretched. He has Folau and Kuridrani outside with both players running into space as genuine receiving options. Rob Horne is also at the bottom of the screen.

Foley decides to dummy and takes on the line himself, while both Kuridrani and Horne are free options. Kuridrani is likely to score with a cutout pass.

Three phases later the same situation presents itself.

Foley dummies and goes himself for a second time, despite having a huge overlap. England’s winger Jack Nowell jams-in to cover, leaving Kuridrani and Horne open with acres of space.

Foley’s form this year has not been his best. If he is tasked with too much and does not have Beale to shoulder the load, he will fail.

With England’s strong defensive system, Australia’s best chances of breaching the line will be on the fringes. With Beale stationed wide at fullback, the ball may never get to him when it needs to.

Beating England without Folau is going to be a tall order, beating England with Beale at fullback is even less probable.

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J
Jon 9 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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