Analysis: Why Scotland's defensive system made Huw Jones look worse than he actually is
Two big missed tackles by Scotland’s centre Huw Jones lead to two big tries and a total of 12 points for Wales. With a final scoreline of 21-10, these misses proved pivotal in the end.
Scotland’s star midfielder has come under the spotlight following the performance, with question marks surrounding his defensive fortitude. The two slip-ups were costly misses that no doubt Jones himself would like to have back again.
However, structural problems in Scotland’s defensive system made Jones look worse than he actually is, with no fail-safe second-line built in. Any Scottish defender that misses a one-on-one assignment is going to end up looking very ordinary.
Huw Jones’ tackle success rate of 85% for Scotland in 2018 is the best of any international outside centre this year, ahead of Mathieu Bastareud (83%), Anton Lienert Brown (83%), Ryan Crotty (83%), Gary Ringrose (83%), Jack Goodhue (78%), Jesse Kriel (73%), Samu Kerevi (68%) and Henry Slade (57%).
He is in the upper echelon of all midfield defenders but his performance against Wales was a dip below his usual high standards. Even so, two missed tackles doesn’t usually equal 12 points. It is not every day that a player’s only two missed tackles of the match leads directly to two tries.
The George North tackle
Wales looked to use power winger George North frequently out towards the left-hand side, using set-piece to work that way before working in a play around North on the third or fourth phase.
Wales run a screen pass on the left edge with Davies (13) running short and North (14) out the back.
From the high angle camera shot, we see Scotland’s full defensive line. Both wingers are up in the line on the edges, and the halfback is also in the line to the far right.
Scotland plays with just one man in the backfield, the fullback, expecting him to cover the vast space in behind and the last man on both edges. There is no rolling coverage where the opposite wing (11) drops back and across to help, and the halfback doesn’t track the ball in behind the ruck as a sweeper.
The absence of this second-line makes Scotland vulnerable to conceding tries on every line break and also to big plays from a short attacking kicking game, which Wales also tried early on.
Anscombe’s decision and timing on the pass is perfect, playing late and picking North out the back after Jones bites in on Davies’ short line.
Jones is still able to recover and attempt a tackle though, but the play has put North on his outside, forcing him to make a side-on tackle rather than front-on.
With North’s power running game, this is all Wales need to achieve to be in with a chance.
Jones has a high lunging attempt on North, slides off the tackle and North skips through a few dive tackles from Scotland’s trailing defence to score.
Jones’ attempt to hit North with a high point of contact, in an upright position from the side with no base stability makes it easier for North to win the initial collision and continue on.
Jones is aerial at the point of contact and has deleveraged all of his power by leaving his feet early.
He is too vertical to be effective from the side and swings around North’s body, brushed away by North extending out his right arm and breaking the wrap.
But why was it so easy for North to score?
Scotland’s fullback Blair Kinghorn (15) also contributes to this, caught a little bit in no man’s land, neither completely up in the line shutting the last man or hanging back inside to cover a possible break.
In all the stills, he is watching the play unfold but doesn’t anticipate a possible breach. It is a harsh assessment but great defensive fullbacks have this instinct and are able to cover for multiple possible scenarios.
Kinghorn seems to have all his eggs in one basket with Wales wing Luke Morgan. The ‘give’ from North is the tuck of the ball – he is only going to run fromt that point on. As North makes contact with Jones, Kinghorn continues to push down into line and out towards the wing.
As there is no sweeper support from the halfback or opposite wing, North has an open passage to the line, which he takes full advantage of.
What is promising about Huw Jones is he doesn’t make the same mistake again. Wales try to run the same play on the stroke of halftime in the exact same position but he doesn’t bite on Davies.
Jones stays put and reads North out the back, leaving Davies for his inside defence.
Anscombe plays short this time and Scotland defends the play, while Jones has North covered this time.
The Jonathan Davies tackle
On this set-piece play, Wales do a great job of creating a numbers advantage. A long pass by halfback Gareth Davies puts the wheels in motion to run this overload sweep play.
Anscombe (10) and North (14) run sweep lines in an attempt to overload Scotland’s edge defence. They succeed in getting ball to Anscombe on the outside of Scotland’s inside centre Alex Dunbar.
Huw Jones immediately recognizes he is at a disadvantage and begins to back off, tracking back to buy time for inside support to recover and stay alive as long as possible.
He does a great job of playing off the runners, shadowing both Anscombe and Davies to cover both bases. He gets Anscombe to pass before committing him, giving himself the chance to shut down the play.
But again the same tackle technique fails, getting a well-timed fend from Jonathan Davies and slipping off the runner.
Scotland has no sweep coverage from the blind winger and Davies goes unobstructed 35-metres to score.
A second look at the play reveals that Scotland switches flyhalf Adam Hastings (10) with left-wing Lee Jones (11) in the front line before the play.
Hastings is so far deep and doesn’t react to the sweep line of George North (14), failing to anticipate the need to be on the other side of the field. Again, Ali Price (9) is not performing in any type of sweeper role. Hastings tries to make it across but is not able to lay a finger on Davies.
Huw Jones isn’t solely to blame
Scotland needs to re-think how the back three operate in tandem and the role of the halfback to provide a second-line in defence.
There is more work that those players can do off the ball to strengthen Scotland’s system. It will require them to cover more ground and possess greater anticipatory skills.
As it is, they have limited means to stop any line breaks from becoming five points, as proven from the above examples. They are also at risk of getting opened up by an attacking kicking game, which nearly happened early when Anscombe’s chip bounced into the lap of George North, only a foot into touch in the process of scoring denying them.
After the first miss on George North, Jones showed his ability to adjust during the game and correct his mistakes. When faced with the exact same scenario again he reacted differently, making the correct read a second time around.
On the Davies miss, Jones played the coverage very well and only a lack of execution on the tackle let him down. Jones might look to adjust his approach when faced with a side-on tackle, which was the case in both instances.
Jones defensive game as a whole is one of the best in the world, with the centre able to expertly cover overlaps with a jockey technique, shadow two players at once when necessary, show good patience when required and physicality in front-on tackles.
The two missed tackles are technical misjudgments, where a low, chop tackle around the legs may have served him better. The two players that beat him aren’t too bad either, many others have fallen victim to North and Davies.
If anything, the Wales game showed that there are always improvements to be made, even by the very best, with how he approaches a side-on tackle one of the lessons to take away.
In other news:
Comments on RugbyPass
Sorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
1 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to commentsThe current AB coaching team is basically the Crusaders so it smacks of wanting their familiar leaders around. This is not a good look for the future of the ABs or the younger players in Super working their way up the player ladder. Razor is touted as innovative, forward looking but his early moves look like insecurity and insular, provincial thinking. He is the AB's coach not the Golden Oldies.
10 Go to commentsSimple reason for wanting him back. Robertson wants him as captain. Otherwise he wouldn’t be bothering chasing him. Not enough reason to come back just to mentor.
10 Go to commentsI had not considered this topic like this at all, brilliant read. I had been looking at his record at the Waratahs and thought it odd the Crusaders appointed him, then couple that with all that experience and talent departing and boom. They’ve got some great talent developing though, and in all honesty I don’t think anyone would be over confident taking them on in a playoff match, no matter how poor the first half of their season was. I think they can pull a game out of their ass when it counts.
2 Go to commentsNot a bad list but not Porecki and not Donaldson. Not because they are Tahs, or Ex Tahs, they are just not good enough. Edmed should be ahead. Far more potential. Wilson should be 8 and Valentini 6. Wilson needs to be told by his father and his coach, stop bloody running in to brick wall defence. You’re not playing under the genius Thorn any more. He’s a fantastic angle runner. The young new 8 from the Brumbies looks really good too. The Lonegrans are just too small for international rugby as is Paisami, as is Hamish Stewart at 12. Both great at Super Rugby level. Stewart could have been a great 10 if not for Brad Thorn. Uru should be there and so should Tupou. Tupou just needs good Australian coaching which he hasn’t been getting. I don’t think Schmidt will excite him.
2 Go to commentsIf he wants to come back then he should. He will be a major asset to the younger locks and could easily be played as an impact player off the bench coming on in the last 30. He is fit, strong and capable and has all the experience to make up for any loss in physical prowess. He could also be brought back with a view to coaching within the structures one day. Duane Vermeulen played until he was 37 or 38. He is now a roaming coach within the South African coaching structures. He was valuable in the last world cup and has been a major influence on Jasper Wiese and other young players which has helped and accelerated their development and growth. Whitelock could do the exact same thing for NZ
10 Go to commentsBrett Excellent words… finally someone (other than DC) has noted that Hanigan is very hard and very good at doing what Backrow should do… his performance via the Drua sauna was quite daunting for those on the other side… very high tackle count… carries with good end result… constant threat to make a good 20-25 meters with those long legs… providing his mass effectively to crunching the Drua pack… Finally he is returning to quality form… way to much injury time over the last 2 years… smart-strong-competent in his skills… caught every lineout throw aimed at him and delivered clean pass to whoever was down below… and he worked hard for the whole 80 minutes… Ned has to be in the top 5 for backrow honors… He knows what is required as he has been there before…
20 Go to commentsI think Sam Whitelock should not touch a return with a bargepole. He went out on a high, playing in the RWC Final. He would be coming back into a team that will be weaker than last years, and might even be struggling to win games, especially against the Boks. Stay in France, enjoy another year with Pau, playing alongside his brother.
10 Go to commentsRyan Coxon has been very impressive considering he was signed by WF as injury cover whilst Uru has been a standout for QR, surprised neither of those mentioned
2 Go to commentsIt’s the massive value he brings with regard team culture/values, preparation, etc. Can’t buy that. I’m hoping to see the young locks get their chance in the big games though.
10 Go to commentsAll good, Gregor, except that you neglected to mention Sam Darry amongst that talented pool of locks. In fact, given Hannah’s inexperience and the fact that Holland won’t be eligible until next year, Lord and Darry might be the frontrunners this year, to join Barrett, Tuipoluto, Va’ii and possibly Whitelock. In fact there might be room for all of them if Barrett played 6 (like Ollie Chessum).
10 Go to commentsHis value is stabilizing the ship 20 - 40 minutes out from the final whistle plus his valuable experience to the underlings coming through.
10 Go to commentsWhat is criminal is she acts like it's no problem her actions have have cause the Italian player to lose her playing career, lose salary, if she did this in day to day life she would be in jail, she is a complete thug!!!
3 Go to commentsCorrect me if i’m wrong but the sadas have to win all games running into the finals yeh nah?
1 Go to commentsDon’t like Diamond but the maul is a joke, the sight of a choke tackle creating a maul then players in offside positions flopping on it killing the ball but then getting the put in? Banal.
3 Go to commentsHopefully Tabai Matson returns to Crusaders as head coach next season.
1 Go to commentsstorm in a teacup really. Penalty only so play on as the try was scored. Now the real question is: why was Maitland allowed to pass the ball off the floor? That is illegal but refs never pick it up.
1 Go to commentsWhen Beauden Barrett signed his contract before the 2023 RWC to play in Japan in 2024, it was NOT part of a sabbatical agreed to with NZRU prior to his signing, as was Ardie Savea and Sam Cane. Barrett changed his mind after the fact and negotiated his return to NZ Rugby and he was given permission to be eligible for All Black selection straight away once he signed a new contract to return to the Blues in 2025. Therefore, why would anyone argue against Whitelock returning to the All Blacks straight away after his season is France is finished if he signs a new contract with NZRU which includes a Super Rugby contract in 2025? If Barrett can, Whitelock should be allowed too.
10 Go to commentsThe All Blacks will select 5 locks this season. Scott Robertson will most likely want to select 2 veteran locks who can start right away in 2024 and 3 young promising locks who he would like to be pushing hard for selection in the starting XV in two years time- 2026. Scott Barrett is a world class lock. Who would you rather start beside him this season against England, South Africa, Ireland, and France- Sam Whitelock or Patrick Tuipulotu? I would choose Whitelock over Tuipulotu all day, every day.
10 Go to comments