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Eddie Jones' 'finishers' are the only thing keeping England on track for the Slam

By Lee Calvert
Ben Te’o

England’s victory over Wales in Cardiff  highlighted what a difference the bench makes, writes Lee Calvert.

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Eddie Jones says lots of things to the media. Most of it is nonsense about percentages or how he received his eye injury, but one thing he said has been borne out in the opening two matches: that he does not see the bench as substitutes but as “finishers.”

In the first week against France the Australian emptied the bench and changed the dynamic of the game. France had been on top physically throughout and, were it not for some poor decision making and certain players catching like they had feet for hands, would have been well ahead. Going into the final 20 minutes it seemed France’s relentless physicality would see them over the victory line. Then on came Jamie George, James Haskell, Danny Care and Ben Te’o. Each played a part in the smash and grab win – Te’o literally smashing over the line.

Fast forward a week and England found themselves in a similar predicament. After a decent opening 15 minutes building to a try, Wales exerted consistent pressure on the England defence. Though they squandered a few chances the home side ultimately ended up the lead going into the last quarter of the game. Once again Jones unpacked the pine, sending on the same suspects and his side again changed the shape of the game, leading to a last gasp win. At the post-match press conference he admitted: “We’ve used up all our get out of jail free cards.”

What is it about the England bench that has made it so much more effective than their opponents?

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At Cardiff on Saturday both Jones and Wales stand-in coach Rob Howley both sent on the reserve cavalry in the last half-hour. The key difference was that the Wales subs were from the old school way of thinking around the bench as replacements: the second-best, inferior versions of the starters.

Jamie Roberts, a shadow of his once-great former self, replaced Scott Williams; young lock Corey Hill replaced the powerful Jake Ball; Scott Baldwin, a hooker who is not even the best option at his club, came on for the hard-as-nails Ken Owens. And then there was Gareth Davies, the scrum-half in the worst form of his admittedly short life.  Each of these replacements offered nothing at best or weakened a position at worst, and each seemed to have no specific role in changing the game positively for Wales.

England’s additions were the opposite. Jamie George is the form hooker in Britain and arguably would be starting if it were not for Dylan Hartley having the captaincy. He added abrasive zip. James Haskell ran straight and hard and grafted his team over the gainline against a tiring defence. Danny Care hurried up the ball and had the forwards carrying off him, and Ben Te’o brought dynamism and power to the midfield, demonstrated by his one bullocking run turning Wales around as the game entered the final stages.

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Before the tournament England fans had begun to ask that Eddie Jones show them what his full gameplan for the team looks like. On the evidence of the first two weeks of the Six Nations this plan is: play well for 10 minutes, defend like hell, empty the bench, play well for 10 minutes… and win.

While this surely can’t be the long-term plan it’s certainly working for now. For their fans England are irresistible while for their opponents who are coming so close to beating them they are no doubt infuriating.

Who’s to say there won’t be few more free jailbreaks as the team head towards the record number of straight test wins?

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Adrian 1 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

11 Go to comments
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Trevor 4 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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B
Bull Shark 8 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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