Ford and Tuilagi switches show Eddie's hand ahead of All Blacks
As England and Eddie Jones prepare for the challenge of New Zealand in Yokohama this Saturday, they have made just one change to the starting XV that comfortably dismantled Australia in the quarter-finals.
George Ford has resumed his role as England’s starting fly-half, with Owen Farrell and Manu Tuilagi shuffled further out in the backline and Henry Slade moving to the bench. It’s just one small change but it has big repercussions on the way that England are likely to play and their approach to countering the considerable threat of the All Blacks.
The return to the Ford-Farrell-Tuilagi midfield axis is one which leans to a more offensive-oriented game plan, rather than approach against Australia which was to counter the threat of Samu Kerevi on the inside, put up an unbreachable wall of line-speed and allow the Wallabies to punch themselves out. It was a tactic which worked to perfection for Jones and England.
The All Blacks, though, are a very different beast and even if England’s defence is energetic, fast, physical and makes the right decisions, New Zealand will manufacture enough chances to cross the whitewash and hurt England. Jones’ charges will have to meet fire with fire and make their own attacking statement against the reigning world champions.
On the reintroduction of Ford to the starting XV, Jones avoided talking too much about the attacking impact the playmaker would have, though.
“Every game we have a look at the conditions, the opposition, what we think we need to do, what we need to take away from the opposition, and this is the best fit for us. Horses for courses. We just feel it’s the right combination this week.
“Work-rate is going to be important. Whenever you play against New Zealand your work off the ball is going to be massively important. They like to move the ball around, they are very good on transition and George’s work-rate off the ball has been absolutely exceptional.”
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Watch: The Barrett brothers face the press ahead of the Rugby World Cup semi-final
Despite Jones’ reluctance to talk about the attacking versatility that Ford will bring England, it’s hard to ignore as a factor in his promotion to the starting XV and the knock-on effects that will have on the rest of the English back line.
Tuilagi’s move to 13, unarguably his most effective attacking position, plays into that goal. Whilst the perception and focus around Tuilagi seems to revolve around his ability to run through and over defenders, his best asset may be his stop-start acceleration and speed to beat defenders on the outside, often whilst also throwing a trademark fend in the process. At outside centre, he gets the space to showcase this more regularly than he does at inside centre.
Ford in ➡️⬅️ Slade out
Barrett in ➡️⬅️Cane out#RugbyWorldCup #RWC2019 pic.twitter.com/QA4BcVfPmO— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 24, 2019
Yes, his physical presence outside of first receiver is lost, though England have become much more comfortable using players like Kyle Sinckler, Billy Vunipola and the Kamikaze Twins, Tom Curry and Sam Underhill, in this role. It is a selection which prioritises attacking in the wider channels, rather than keeping a game tighter.
England have previously shown a comfort switching Farrell and Tuilagi in this line-up, too, which will put an emphasis on New Zealand tracking when and where Tuilagi will appear in the back line. That will help England in their attempt to create space and numerical advantages for the back three of Jonny May, Anthony Watson and Elliot Daly to exploit.
It’s not something that New Zealand will be unprepared for, however, with Steve Hansen having highlighted the possibility of it when he announced his own team earlier in the day.
. @EnglandRugby have three non-negotiables if they are to beat the All Blacks on Saturday
– writes @alexshawsport 👨💼 #rwc https://t.co/4kv2QCDbHE
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 23, 2019
“Eddie might make some changes. He’s pretty shrewd. We have seen plenty of the George Ford and Farrell combo and also the Farrell-Tuilagi combo. You prepare for both scenarios and try to deal with it as best you can.”
It is not something, though, that the All Blacks got a look at first-hand in 2018 when they played at Twickenham, when Jones went with a midfield of Farrell, Ben Te’o and Henry Slade. In fact, only Sinckler, May, Daly, Underhill, Maro Itoje and Ben Youngs from the starting XV that day join Farrell in starting again against the All Blacks, with a number of relatively new faces for New Zealand to have to contend with.
Where New Zealand have bulked up in their back row, England have continued with a more mobile unit involving Curry and Underhill. Where New Zealand have leant heavily on formidable scrummaging front rows, England have been building their game around the more influential in the loose props they have at their disposal. In a way, both teams have spent the last cycle moving away from some of their traditional strengths and bolstering the other areas of their games.
The All Blacks may be favourites, but this has all the hallmarks of a titanic tussle and a clash for the ages in Yokohama on Saturday.
Watch: Steve Hansen speaks to the press ahead of New Zealand’s semi-final with England
Comments on RugbyPass
It’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
2 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
27 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
1 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
1 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
2 Go to commentsLions might take him on if they move on Van Rooyen but I doubt he will want to go back, might consider it a step backwards for himself. Sharks would take him on but if Plumtree goes on to win the challenge cup they will keep him on. Also sharks showing some promising signs recently. Stormers and Bulls are stable and Springboks are already filled up. Quality coach though, interesting to see where he ends up
1 Go to commentsAnd the person responsible for creating a culture of accountability is?
3 Go to commentsMore useless words from Ben Smith -Please get another team to write about. SA really dont need your input, it suck anyway.
264 Go to commentsThis disgraceful episode must result in management and coach team sackings. A new manager with worse results than previous and the coaching staff need to coached. Awful massacre led by donkeys.
1 Go to commentsInteresting article with one glaring mistake. This sentence: “And between the top four nations right now, Ireland, France, South Africa, and New Zealand…” should read: And between the top four nations right now, South Africa, Ireland, New Zealand and France…”. Get it right wistful thinkers, its not that hard.
24 Go to commentsHow did Penny get the gig anyway?
3 Go to commentsNice write up Nick and I would have agreed a week ago. However as you would know Cale & co got absolutely monstered by the Blues back row of Sotutu, Ioane and Papaliti and not all of these 3 are guaranteed a start in the Black jumper. He may need to put some kgs before stepping up, Spring tour? After the week end Joe will be a bit more restless. Will need to pick a mobile tough pack for Wales and hope England does the right thing and bashes the ABs. I like your last paragraph but I would bring Swinton, Hannigan into the 6 role and Bobby V to 8
27 Go to commentsThe Crusaders can still get in to the Play Off’s. The imminent return of outstanding captain Scott Barrett and his All Black team mate Codie Taylor will be a big boost.There are others like Tamaiti Williams too. Two home games coming up. Fellow Crusader fans get there and support these guys. I will be.
2 Go to commentsCant get more Wellington than Proctor.
2 Go to commentsWhy not let the media decide. Like how they choose the head coach. Like most of us we entrust the rugby system to choose. A rugby team includes the coaches. It's collective.
14 Go to commentsHi NIck, I have been very impressed with him and he seems a smart player who can see opportunities which Bobby V _(who must be an international 6_) doesn’t see or have the speed to take advantage of. If he continues to improve and puts on 5kgs then he could be a great 8. He is a bit taller than Keiran Reid at 1.93m and 111 kgs, so his skill set fits his body size and who knows where it will lead. I hope the spate of Achilles tendon issues have been dealt with by the S&C people. It’s been a very long time since Mark Loane and Kefu stood out at 8. The question is will we be able to hold onto him, if he does make it he will be pretty hot property. I disagree with the idea of letting them go to the Northern Hemisphere and then bring them back.
27 Go to commentsBilly Fulton 🤣🤣🤣🤣 garrrmon not even close
14 Go to commentsDoes the AI take into account refs? hahaha Seriously why not have two on field refs to avoid bias?
24 Go to comments