1
Four England talking points after their comeback win over Wales
Having lost a Rugby World Cup semi-final 16 weeks ago after leading for ages versus South Africa, England would have left Twickenham on Saturday night buzzing at finishing on the right side of the ledger against Wales.
ADVERTISEMENT
As was the case for the Springboks, the English didn’t lead for very long in contrast to the visitors who moved ahead on 17 minutes and stayed there until the 72nd – a full 55 minutes out in front without getting the job done.
It’s a damning reflection on Wales, who failed to build on their 14-5 interval lead and wound up getting held scoreless in the second half.
That malaise left the door ajar for England to finish in a flourish and make happy a frustrated fanbase that previously would have seen the English win just three of their 10 most recent home matches.
Not since 2019 have England ended the opening two weekends of the Guinness Six Nations with two Ws chalked up and their season is now alive with possibilities. Here are the RugbyPass talking points following their 16-14 comeback triumph:
Fortune favours the Dingwall
Let’s not lose the run of ourselves here over England being unbeaten in mid-February for the first time in five years. They were recent Rugby World Cup bronze medal winners but you won’t be rushing to the bookies to put the house on them just yet to win the championship as next-up Scotland are their bogey and Ireland, their early March opponents before the round five finale away to France, are many levels above.
However, Wales was a proper Test match between two middling, well-matched sides and the manner of the English comeback can only nourish their soul ahead of their Murrayfield assignment.
ADVERTISEMENT
They did revert to type in Saturday’s second half, using the boot more than in the opening half.
But you couldn’t fault that given how, for instance, it was a splendid 50:22 kick from George Ford that put them deep into Welsh territory and possession from that resulting lineout crucially ended with Mason Grady’s sin-binning for a deliberate knock-on and Ford firing over the winning points off the tee.
However, amidst all the kicks from the hand (their game total was 32 by full-time, one less than Wales), England didn’t completely abandon the idea of getting the ball to the edge through the hands and that ambition was what got Fraser Dingwall in at the corner for his important try after battering away at the line under the posts proved fruitless.
The midfielder understandably revelled in the moment; his tackling wasn’t reliable in Rome and it was the same in London – his tally for the championship now reads eight missed tackles. The try, though, showed what he can do on the ball and it’s been a pity he hasn’t had it more these past two weekends.
ADVERTISEMENT
The curiosity regarding Dingwall’s missed tackles – and his two penalty concessions – was that opposition number Nick Tompkins missed a team-high four for Wales.
It’s always claimed that outside centre is the most difficult backs position to defend in, but Saturday’s misses by the respective 12s suggested that the inside channel currently ain’t no walk in the park either.
‘Winning’ the second half
With England winning the second half 11-0 to follow on from last weekend’s 13-7 second-half ‘win’ in Rome, Borthwick made an intriguing reference in his post-game debrief that had RugbyPass delving into the stats bunker to assess its veracity.
Speaking about the impact of his bench versus the Welsh, the head coach suggested: “If I go back to prior to the World Cup, we identified England’s second-half performances deteriorated since around 2018 and we have put a big emphasis on second-half performances.
“What you have seen through that World Cup and examples last week and today is second-half performances that were more consistently improved.”
They have. Under Borthwick last year in his maiden Six Nations in charge, England lost four of their five second halves and of the combined championship second halves from 2018 to 2023, 13 were won, two drawn and 15 lost.
In contrast, nine of the 10 second halves in 2016 and 2017 were won, steeling campaigns where back-to-back titles were achieved at the beginning of the Eddie Jones era.
What especially helped the second-half ‘win’ on Saturday was the defensive attitude of their five replacement forwards who put in a hectic 33 tackles between them to repel the Welsh (this tackle tally includes Alex Coles’ first-half cameo for Ollie Chessum’s HIA).
A real battle at @Twickenhamstad ???
Thanks to @WelshRugbyUnion for another hard-fought encounter ? #ENGvWAL | #GuinnessM6N pic.twitter.com/CqQA34bvgn
— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) February 10, 2024
Spot-on Itoje quota
We highlighted in the round one Italy fallout that Maro Itoje giving away soft penalties for offsides wasn’t healthy for England. It was good to hear then that he was the one calling the shots regarding setting his team’s round two disciplinary target.
The concession of no more than seven penalties was the quota he deemed acceptable. Conceding six in the first half and one in the second wasn’t the way he would have envisaged the infringements stacking up, but Itoje and England ultimately did what they said they would do and it made a winning difference.
Look at how the Welsh didn’t get a sniff in the closing minutes of securing a penalty in England’s half to shoot for victory. This was fine game management that Itoje and co can be chuffed about.
"There’s a team here that stays in the fight…"
"We had a penalty count that was six-zero at half-time and two sin bins."
– The Steve Borthwick hot take on seeing England pip Wales with a powerful second-half comeback. #GuinnessM6N #EnglandRugby #ENGvWAL pic.twitter.com/CAGmC9ot0C
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 10, 2024
The Ford conversion gaffe
Borthwick didn’t want to get involved in a discussion about the Ford gaffe that was the out-half being unable to get his conversion kick away after Ben Earl’s first-half try.
The race by multiple Welsh players off the line after Ford took a step was deemed legal by referee James Doleman and the two points that were squandered from in front of the posts would have generated a huge level of negativity had England lost by a narrow margin.
It’s not the first time that they have recently been lax from the kicking tee. Owen Farrell got lost in the moment in the Rugby World Cup clash with Samoa, embarrassingly getting counted out on the shot clock and being left unable to take the kick.
That mishap also wasn’t costly result-wise but that is twice now in the past six matches where something bizarre has deprived England of kick points. They surely can’t keep getting away with unnecessary stuff like that not hurting them.
We wonder might temporary consultant coach Andrew Strawbridge have a blunt word or two about it. Four weeks was the extent of his short-term deal with England for this Six Nations and it will be interesting to see how things finish up with the former All Blacks skills coach and whether there is scope to extend.
After all, he has the inside track from France 2023 on how to beat Andy Farrell’s Ireland, England’s March 9 opposition.
Comments on RugbyPass
RugbyPass writers are useless! you guys should get a real job because you all suck at writing about rugby!!!
8 Go to commentslooking forward to RWC2027 …. Boks on mission impossible for the Three-in-a-row, ABs to prove they being on par, France wishing to crown the “DuPont-era”, Ireland knocking on the Semi-Door ….. until then we’ll probably have to deal with Weird Ben’s fantasy-RWC23 (fun fact is, the drivel always creates a flooding of comments) …..
221 Go to commentsBen Smith you really make some good points in this article, the Springboks were not close to perfect and good still beat the All Blacks, imagine if they were as good as they were against France what a hiding the All Blacks would have gotten… maybe another Twickenham drubbing
221 Go to commentsIt is a good argument to keep the Rebels for one more year but also isnt this just opening the door as well for keeping them beyond 2025. If they can create some sort of financial stability in the next year and if their performances lift as they have this season then how would RA even cull them after that? It might be the most cost effective decision at this stage and perhaps many people are guilty of keeping relationships going because of the cost to decouple but then again when does that ever work out well?
16 Go to commentsDear Ben Smith you are a genius! God please become the next all blacks coach that can take on the mighty BOKS. Your rugby acumen is second to none - imagine your dads sperm bounced as unfortunately as that oval ball did….we would not be blessed with your presence. Just as the all blacks were missing a man you too are missing a chromosome for 80% of your life, so your insights are not only profound but ring true from your own experiences. Just as the TMO interfered with citing an illegal pass I am sure your local authorities interfere with your illegal passes you make on women - How dare they!!! God forbid that rugby be officiated fairly. You are the right man for the job. Next all blacks coach is here ladies and gentlemen Miss Ben Smith (He/She/They/IT)
221 Go to commentsHuge engine this guy and great to see him back ..The amount of clean outs he does at the ruck are ridiculous !!
3 Go to commentsThe level of desperation in this article is just embarrassing.
221 Go to commentsSome silly trolling in the comments.
9 Go to commentsEverywhere you turn some irish journo is advocating Ireland as the greatest, reasoning that the wc is a 4 year cycle event so, they say wc doesn’t matter it’s the rugby in between that should account for the accolade. If there was no wc then some substance could be gained, however in my opinion the moment that defined Ireland’s fate against the abs was 37 phases of repeated head bashing against a brick wall. If a change in strategy or a tinker with the game plan was executed then things could've been vastly different. And to point a finger the let down was in the hands of the number 10.
52 Go to commentsI have heard it asked if RA is essentially one of the part owners and I suppose therefor should be on the other side of these two parties. If they purchased the rebels and guaranteed them, and are responsible enough they incur Rebels penalties, where is this line drawn? Seems rough to have to pay a penalty for something were your involvement sees you on the side of the conned party, the creditors. If the Rebels directors themselves have given the club their money, 6mil worth right, why aren’t they also listed as sitting with RA and the Tax office? And the legal threat was either way, new Rebels or defunct, I can’t see how RA assume the threat was less likely enough to warrant comment about it in this article. Surely RA ignore that and only worry about whether they can defend it or not, which they have reported as being comfortable with. So in effect wouldn’t it be more accurate to say there is no further legal threat (or worry) in denying the deal. Unless the directors have reneged on that. > Returns of a Japanese team or even Argentinean side, the Jaguares, were said to be on the cards, as were the ideas of standing up brand new teams in Hawaii or even Los Angeles – crazy ideas that seemingly forgot the time zone issues often cited as a turn-off for viewers when the competition contained teams from South Africa. Those timezones are great for SR and are what will probably be needed to unlock its future (cant see it remaining without _atleast _help from Aus), day games here are night games on the West Coast of america, were potential viewers triple, win win. With one of the best and easiest ways to unlock that being to play games or a host a team there. Less good the further across Aus you get though. Jaguares wouldn’t be the same Jaguares, but I still would think it’s better having them than keeping the Rebels. The other options aren’t really realistic 25’ options, no. From reading this authors last article I think if the new board can get the investment they seem to be confident in, you keeping them simply for the amount of money they’ll be investing in the game. Then ditch them later if they’re not good enough without such a high budget. Use them to get Jaguares reintergration stronger, with more key players on board, and have success drive success.
16 Go to commentsYeah, and ours is waaay bigger than yours. Just as you's get a semi…oh hold on that never happens
52 Go to commentsLove watching
1 Go to commentsThe Melbourne Rebels lineout is a complete disaster so not surprisingly a kiwi coach of the Wallabies hires the worst lineout coach in the country and a foreigner to boot. No surprises whatsoever here…….
6 Go to commentsThank your for wasting 2 minutes of my life Daniel. There is a useful message in there somewhere but your delivery sucks.
8 Go to commentsBen Smith, you are cry baby
221 Go to commentsSux that homophobia is still a thing though. I wonder how many players who could have become legends never kept playing rugby because they felt unwelcome.
8 Go to commentsCrazy he’s only 28, feel like he’s been around forever - don’t mind the move, safe pair of hands and creates depth in a thin position for ABs. Hopefully aides Kemara’s growth also without thrusting too much responsibility on him
1 Go to commentsMen should show strength and be mean, but they should be able to show emotion to those close yo them in certain times, birth of your child, death of family, proud moment. This article is stupid
8 Go to commentsWhat a weak article…absolute drivel and clickbait, well done. Will stick to rugby365 thanks
8 Go to commentsHonest, discipline, humility… Priceless.
2 Go to comments