Cipriani v Ford: taking the ball to the line – Andy Goode
England’s two main contenders for the fly half jersey both shone in the Premiership at the weekend but there’s only one winner at the moment.
Danny Cipriani has been given the man of the match award in both of his outings for Gloucester so far, while George Ford bounced back from a poor performance at Exeter to score 29 points for Leicester against Newcastle, and there were a couple of examples in Saturday’s games that highlighted their attacking threat.
Cipriani’s floated pass over the top for Matt Banahan’s try late on was spectacular and drew more gasps from fans but his assist for Ruan Ackermann’s second try was an even better example of just why he is so difficult to play against at the moment.
Ackermann cut a line that was angled three or four metres back in towards the ball and Tom Dunn made the defensive error in not reacting to that line which created the hole but the way Cipriani takes the ball to the line and spots defenders that are low on energy or aren’t in position is streets ahead of most fly halves in world rugby at the moment.
Dunn didn’t move much from his starting position and Ackermann picked a great line but Cipriani has spotted that Henry Thomas, Nathan Catt and Dunn are together in midfield and chosen the perfect play to take advantage.
There are a lot of components that go into a move like that and everybody has to be singing from the same hymn sheet but it’s all about Cipriani taking the ball right to the line because if he passes it a few metres back, the line break doesn’t happen.
Bravery comes in all different forms in rugby and Cipriani knows he’s going to get melted at times when he’s calling plays like that but has the courage to do it and not release the ball until just as he’s about to take contact.
He has to take a hit from Thomas in order to create the try but he’s unbelievable at engaging the defender in front of him.
The best fly halves in the world attack the gain line and create opportunities for other players around them and Cipriani is right up there at the moment.
Ford is his closest rival in that respect in terms of the England number 10 jersey and he attacked the line, threw a dummy and went over for a try early on for Leicester against Newcastle at the weekend but he also used Kyle Eastmond and Manu Tuilagi outside him very well.
Eastmond put Tuilagi through the hole for his try after Toby Flood had rushed out of the defensive line and created a dog-leg but Ford’s presence coming around the back helps to create the try because Josh Matavesi is drawn to him as well as trying to deal with Tuilagi and he ends up getting beaten on his inside shoulder.
If you fly up at players like Eastmond, Ford or Cipriani, they’ve got the ability to take you out of the game and slot people through the holes around you so Flood was at fault rather than Matavesi but it was great attacking play as well.
If you look at all of the best examples of attacking play from fly half, it’s all about keeping your shoulders square to the defence. That’s what interests defenders and then it’s about releasing it at the right time and being able to throw the short and the long ball.
It’s bloody difficult and I’m the first to admit that I didn’t engage enough defenders by doing that in my day but players like Cipriani, Eastmond and, at times, Ford make it look very easy.
Ultimately, if Dunn works harder and tracks Ackermann’s line, that try isn’t scored, And, if Flood isn’t so eager and doesn’t come out of the line, Tuilagi’s try isn’t scored. However, it’s quality play to take advantage.
Cipriani has matured hugely over the last couple of years and we saw that against South Africa in the third Test when he managed the game really well in conditions that didn’t suit him at all.
There will be big question marks this year and he will make errors but he isn’t making many at the moment and, as well as the flashy plays and attacking skill, his game management has been exceptional.
Ford played very well against Newcastle at Welford Road but there are certainly bigger question marks over him, with his game management particularly poor against Exeter the week before.
Neither have excelled in defence over the course of their careers but Ford has been found out more physically, especially of late, and there’s no doubt that teams target him when he lines up in the number 10 channel for England.
Ford has gone missing in big games and been found wanting when it comes to understanding how you need to change the game plan throughout a match and he was the man who started at fly half in four of the five games England lost on the bounce this year.
There’s no question Cipriani is the man in possession of the England number 10 jersey and the nation will be keeping their fingers crossed that his confidence and performance levels are just as high this time next year too.
Comments on RugbyPass
The URC and the Euro Championscup can’t run at the same time, basically dilutes both competitions.
1 Go to comments“While Sotutu should start at No.8 for the All Blacks against England, but it’s only in that arena that he can prove just how good he really is.” And that my friends is where simply hasnt shone despite multiple opportunities. Even in this performance you can see what did him in in the test arena..he almost always still runs at the opposition almost ramrod upright making him easier to stop than it should be.
1 Go to commentsShould have been 0-0 and a message from SR CEO to both teams - “don’t worry about turning up next year”.
3 Go to commentsGreat work Owen Franks. A great of this team, scoring his first try for the Crusaders since 2010.He was beaming, justifiably. A fine win, he and the rest did the job up front.
1 Go to commentsDanny Care. Lang in die tand.
1 Go to commentsBig empty stadium does nothing for atmosphere but munster are playing well with solid performance
1 Go to commentsYes, Fiji can win the World Cup! With that belief plus their christian faith🙏 and hard work it is achievable. Great article. Ian Duncan Fiji resident 1981-84
2 Go to commentsInteresting comments about Touch. England’s hosting the Touch World Cup this year and the numbers have exploded since their last World Cup in 2019, something like 70% more teams and 40 nations taking part. And England Touch have made a big thing about how many universities are in their BUCS University Touch Championship as well as Sport England membership. Can only see this growing even more domestically as more people become aware of it
10 Go to comments“Cortez Ratima is light years ahead of anyone on current form, while TJ Perenara has also skyrocketed into contention following the unfortunate injury to the talented Cam Roigard.” At last some sanity. Hitherto so many pundits have been wittering on about Finlay Christie to the point one wondered if they were observing a FC in a parallel universe where the FC they saw wasnt just the mediocre Shayne Philpott project of Fosters hapless AB reign in the real world. Ratima, Perenara and Fakatava are the ONLY logical 9s for Razor now Roigard is crocked.
3 Go to commentsThis game was just as painful as the Hurricanes game. It was real fork-in-the-eye stuff.
3 Go to commentsNow if they could just fire the Crusaders ground PA guy who likes to play his dance music and just loves the sound of his own voice the entire game, even when play is going on. And I thought their brass band thing of a few years ago was bad.
5 Go to commentsUnfortunately when you lose by far the two form players this season in Roigard and Aumua, you're left replacing two game changing Tanks with a couple of pea-shooters. Which is also about the speed of TJs pass.
4 Go to commentsBit rich coming from the guy with zero loyalty to anyone or any team, including happily taking a players place in a league world cup squad because well, SBW wanted to play in it and thus an already named player got told he was no longer going. And airing stuff like this, which may or may not be true, doesn't exactly say you're a stand up guy either SBW. Just looking to keep his name in lights as usual.
38 Go to commentsTamati Tua. …the Taniwha NPC midfielder. Ollie Sapsford, Hawkes Bay NPC midfielder…doing well
4 Go to commentsFiji deserve to be in the rugby championship, fans love seeing the Fijian national team play, the Fijian Drua is a wonderful idea but the players can still be stolen to play for NZ and AUS…
2 Go to commentsThe first concern for this afternoon are wheather forecast…
1 Go to commentsWhy cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to comments