The man who laid the foundation for England's RWC destruction left his fingerprints all over Ireland win
After the disjointed display in Paris and the battle against the elements, as much as the opposition, in Edinburgh, the win for England over Ireland at Twickenham on Sunday was the performance fans have been waiting for since the Rugby World Cup semi-final against New Zealand, and much of that is owed to forwards coach, Matt Proudfoot.
In truth, the 24-12 score line does not accurately reflect the dominance England had in the game and they will be rueing both their inability to get a fourth try for the bonus point, as well as the two Irish tries which sandwiched the bulk of the second half. If there were a day to nil Ireland for the first time since 1990, this was it.
That said, there was a lot to like about England’s performance, nestled in there alongside the work-ons that they will inevitably have ahead of their Round 4 match-up with Wales at Twickenham.
The kicking game, which had been pivotal in the torrential conditions at Murrayfield, was incisive and efficient, a far cry from the errant display that had plagued them at the Stade de France in their tournament opener. Ben Youngs, George Ford, Owen Farrell and Elliot Daly all kicked with aplomb on Sunday afternoon and their chemistry with England’s corps of chasers was undeniable.
In the first half in particular, there were signs of life again in the interplay of the midfield of Ford, Farrell and Manu Tuilagi, with Farrell and Tuilagi seamlessly switching positions and the Leicester Tiger enjoying plenty of gain-line success as the primary attacking weapon off of the top of England’s lineout. Farrell was then able to operate as a playmaker on quick, front-foot second phase ball.
Continue reading below…
Watch: Palpable disappointment for Andy Farrell and Jonathan Sexton in the wake of England loss
The Jonathan Joseph experiment on the wing worked, too. He was unfazed defensively by Ireland’s admittedly far from functioning kicking game and the work he produced off of his wing, with midfield involvements and gain-line success, was impressive. Bigger examinations of his credentials on the wing could yet come, but this test was passed with flying colours on Sunday.
One of the most striking developments, though, was how much the England pack resembled their South African counterparts from November’s Rugby World Cup final, with the influence of poached Springbok assistant coach Matt Proudfoot clear for all to see. Proudfoot’s efforts fine-tuning the South African scrum and forward pack was pivotal in their mauling of England in that 32-12 beatdown.
Just a few short months later and he is again orchestrating the physical dismantling of opponents, albeit this time he’s on England’s side.
SIX NATIONS RD 3 XV
6 🇫🇷
5 🏴
2 🏴
1 🇮🇹
1 🏴
– @alexshawsport selects his Rd. 3 XV #SixNations https://t.co/EIYm9R2pAj— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 23, 2020
The beefed-up England pack took Ireland on at the scrum, an area where Ireland have edged the contest with England in recent years, and came out with the advantage. Early pressure from Cian Healy seemed to catch Kyle Sinckler cold at the first scrum, before the tighthead fought his way back to parity, whilst the job Joe Marler did containing and going after Tadhg Furlong was impressive to watch.
Unlike in the Rugby World Cup final, when the early loss of Sinckler to a head injury seemed to scupper England’s plans, when the home side went to their bench today, the scrum solidity was maintained. In Ellis Genge and Will Stuart, Eddie Jones has two very effective and mobile props in the loose and the work Proudfoot has done in addition to the coaching they receive at club level has only seen them become more formidable all-round players.
The sight of Genge aggressively going after and technically and physically out-scrummaging a player as potent as Andrew Porter will have been welcomed by England fans, with the loosehead’s development at the set-piece having taken on an even more rapid ascendancy. He is, to use Jones’ terminology, a very effective finisher for England, though genuine questions can now be asked if he would not be better utilised as a starter. Between Genge, Marler and the absent Mako Vunipola, not to mention Beno Obano patiently waiting for his opportunity, England are smiling at loosehead.
Not like him. https://t.co/q9dSn7vswu
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 23, 2020
Then there was the physicality of the carrying from the forward pack, an area where they were widely lambasted three weeks previous against France, and it was summed up on Sunday by the influence of Courtney Lawes. In the game against France, the on-and-off-again experiment of using Lawes as a blindside flanker was considered a failure.
Three weeks later and Lawes was replicating the role provided by Pieter-Steph du Toit, another lock converted into the back row, to the Springboks over the past couple of years. He was England’s primary lineout option to the point that all seven successful throws in the first half went to him, whilst there was a power to his carrying that helped free up Sam Underhill and Tom Curry to roam and have more selective and influential impacts on the game.
No one is saying Lawes plays that blindside role to the standard that reigning World Rugby Player of the Year du Toit does, but an impact was felt and the balance it gave England allowed the home side to prosper. The common denominator in this comparison is the involvement of Proudfoot as a coach.
Wales, your listening bro?
– @chrisjonespress reporting fron Twickenham #englandrugby #ENGvIRE https://t.co/10usWuNu9h
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 23, 2020
It wasn’t just Lawes, either, with Jamie George also having one of his better games with ball in hand for quite some time at international level, as England’s tight five much more competently shouldered the burden of the physical grunt work close to the ruck on both sides of the ball. Just as Lawes’ contributions did, this allowed Underhill and Curry to get back to doing what they do best.
Luke Cowan-Dickie added punch from the bench in the form of his set-piece accuracy and carrying, Charlie Ewels packed down at No 8 before moving over to blindside – and is another who could be moulded in that du Toit mould – and there will be bigger involvements to come for Ben Earl. Across the board, England’s forwards just felt sharper, more dynamic and better able to exert their physicality on their opponents.
No one is dismissing the work that Steve Borthwick and Neal Hatley have done with the group, though sometimes a fresh voice and approach can reap rewards that an established one cannot. With that physical dominance coming without the presence of either of the Vunipola brothers, or an out-and-out power No 8, the influence of Proudfoot seems to be bearing fruit swiftly.
PLAYER RATINGS
– @alexshawsport 👨💻rates the English players #ENGvIRE https://t.co/kgNJJ9lscO
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 23, 2020
The lineout is flourishing still and the scrum is beginning to look ominously potent, two factors which will help keep England competitive, even when other aspects of their game don’t quite click. If a forwards and set-piece coach’s primary objective is to lay that foundation for his or her side, the hiring of Proudfoot has looked like a welcome and positive move by the RFU.
The next challenge for England’s impressive pack is that of Wales in March, with Wayne Pivac’s side licking the wounds of back-to-back losses to Ireland and France. Fired up will be an understatement for that group making the trip to Twickenham and it will be another acid test for Proudfoot and his charges.
The defence, under John Mitchell is established and effective, the attack, under Simon Amor, is in its infancy, but the forwards, with the player pool at Jones and England’s disposal, could legitimately become the best in the world under Proudfoot’s tutelage. It’s just a shame we won’t get to see them go head-to-head with their South African counterparts this year and test themselves against the benchmark that they fell short against last year.
Let’s hope it’s a fixture we can circle in our diaries in 2021.
Watch: Eddie Jones fires back at his critics after victory against Ireland
Comments on RugbyPass
excellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
9 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
12 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
9 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
9 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
9 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to commentsSuch a shame Roigard and Aumua picked up long term injuries, probably the two form players in the comp. Also, pretty sure Clarke Dermody isn’t their coach. Got it half right though.
3 Go to commentsOh the Aussie media, they never learn. At least Andrew Kellaway is like “Woah, yeah it’s great, but settle down there guys” having endured years of the Aussie media, fans, and often their players getting ahead of themselves only to fall flat on their faces. Have the “We'll win the Bledisloe for sure this year!” headlines started yet? It’s simple to see what’s going on. The Aussie teams are settled, they didn't lose any of their major players overseas. The Crusaders and Chiefs lost key experienced All Blacks, and Razor in the Crusaders case, and clearly neither are anywhere near as strong as last year (The Canes and Blues would probably be 3rd & 4th if they were). The Highlanders are annually average, even more so post-Aaron Smith and a big squad clean out. The two teams at the top? The two nz sides with largely the same settled roster as last year, except Ardie Savea for the Canes. They’ve both got far better coaches now too. If the Aussies are going to win the title, this is the year the kiwi sides will be weakest, so they better take their chance.
3 Go to commentsThe World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
9 Go to commentsWhat’ll happen when the AI models of the future go back in time and try to destroy the AI models of the past standing in their way of certain victory?
41 Go to commentsThanks, Nick. We (Seanny Maloney, Brett and I) just discussed Charlie as a potential Wallaby No 8, and wondered if he has truly realised how big he is in contact (and whether he can add 5 kg w/o slowing down). Your scouting report confirms our suspicions he has the materiel. No one knows if he has the mentality (as Johann van Graan said this week about CJ, Duane and Alfie B) to carry 10-15 times a game.
57 Go to commentsHe would be a great player for the Stormers, Dobbo should approach the guy.
3 Go to commentsGood article. A few years back when he was playing for the Cheetahs, he was a quiet standout for exactly the seasons stated here. I occasionally get to see his games in the UK, and he has become a more complete player and in many ways like an Irish player. His work ethic is so suitable to the Leinster game. I wonder if Rassie would have him listed somewhere.
3 Go to commentsResults probably skewed by the fact that a few clubs have foreign fly halves in their 30s, but most teams have young English scrum halves. Results also likely to be skewed by the fact that many teams rely on centres and fullbacks to provide depth at 10, whereas they will need to stock a large number of specialist backup 9s.
1 Go to commentsI really get the sense that when all is said and done, the path of least resistance will end up being a merger of Wasps & Worcester that essentially kills the Worcester Warriors brand and sees Wasps permanently playing at Sixways. I’m not saying that’s what should happen or what I want to happen. I just think it’s the easiest rout to take and therefore, will be what happens. Wasps will definitely return to play first, and I suppose it all depends on if they can find support at Sixways. If people turn up and support Wasps in that community, at that ground, I bet they drop the Sevenoaks plan and just remain at Sixways. Under the radar but not totally unrelated, it looks as though London Irish are going to be brought back from the dead by a German consortium and look set to return, likely to the remade Championship. It’s set to have 12 clubs next season with 14 in 2025/26, what do you want to bet those extra 2 are Wasps and London Irish?
3 Go to commentsThe shoulder is a “joint” with multiple bones. You don’t “fracture” a shoulder, you fracture any one or more of the bones that make up a shoulder.
2 Go to commentsOh dear, bones too suspect to continue?
2 Go to commentsBold headline considering the Canes and Blues are 1 and 2 and the Brumbies were soundly beaten by the Chiefs and Blues. Biggest surprise is Rebels 4 Crusaders 12 - no one saw that coming. If Aus are improving that’s great 👍
3 Go to commentsAnna, You are right, we need to have patience whilst the others catch up to England and France. Also it is the PWR that has been the game changer for England. the RFU put money into that initially at the expense of the Red Roses. I was sceptical at first but it has paid off in spades.
1 Go to commentsI think Matt Proctor became a 1 test AB in the same fixture. Cameron is quality and has been great this season, can’t believe’s he only 27. Realistically how would he not be selected for ABs squad this year. Only Dmac is ahead of him as a specialist 10. With Jordan out, it will come down to where and when Beauden Barrett slots back in, and where they want to play Ruben Love. Cameron seems an absolute lock in for the wider squad though. Added benefit of TJ-Cameron-Jordie combination at 9, 10, 11 too.
1 Go to comments