How 'the best defensive 13 England have ever had' would fix their issues

While it was England’s attack, or lack thereof in the final quarter, that came under scrutiny following their loss to the All Blacks, it is the turn of the defence to be picked apart this week, as Australia did with consummate ease in their victory at Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium.

Where Steve Borthwick and Joe El-Abd begin trying to fix an ailing defence that conceded 42 points at home is anyone’s guess. Presumably, it will start with England’s defensive weakness around the breakdown, but they were not much more secure around the fringes once the Wallabies spread the ball wide with some slick handling.

Maybe they will try to address the England players’ actual tackling capabilities. Regardless of what defensive system is used, 36 missed tackles will seldom win a side a Test match. The blitz defence may not help with those figures, but the way Australia’s Tom Wright and Angus Bell (yes, their loosehead) were able to jink through England’s defence should have deeply concerned Borthwick.

The 20-min red card explained by referee Karl Dickson

Referee Karl Dickson explains the 20-min red card system that is in place during the Autumn Nations Series.

The 20-min red card explained by referee Karl Dickson

Referee Karl Dickson explains the 20-min red card system that is in place during the Autumn Nations Series.

Possibly it is when and where the blitz defence is deployed that will be worked on this week having conceded a match-winning try at the death from 40 metres out.

That is a lot to address and very little time to do it with the double world champions and number one ranked side in the world South Africa coming to London on Saturday.

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England internationals Ben Youngs and Anthony Watson went over England’s blitz defence on the For the Love of Rugby podcast in the wake of the loss and how it can be fixed.

Watson urged England to increase their number of dominant tackles if they wish for the blitz defence to work, which would slow down the opposition’s speed of ball.

Quoting former England centre Jonathan Joseph, who Watson described as “the best defensive 13 England have ever had,” the Leicester Tigers winger said England must have a “bail-out” in defence rather than persistently adopting the blitz.

“My concern is around the blitz and the areas that they were blitzing from,” Watson said.

“Once Australia got go-forward in and around the ruck and they were constantly getting on the front foot, it becomes very hard because as a blitz defence you’re constantly coming up and back-tracking. If you’ve got speed of ball like Australia did in and around the ruck it becomes very hard to be set, to have the right numbers, to be connected with your numbers inside and outside, and that’s where holes appear or you feel vulnerable on the edge.

“So I think if that area was shored up a little bit, getting a few more dominant tackles, getting on the front foot in defence, I think it allows the blitz to work pretty successfully.

“I was talking with Jonathan Joseph, who is, in my opinion, the best defensive 13 England have ever had, and he was suggesting that there needs to be some form of bail-out. England need something when their numbers are down just to be able to connect. Not get out of the blitz defence but just and insurance blanket.

“In a few of those situations, I think that would have saved a try. Look at the first one, for example, if [George] Furbank doesn’t come up and in in a sort of blitzish style defence, I think [Ollie] Sleightholme gets to [Joseph] Suaalii and Furbank gets to Tom Wright in the corner.

“I think there are definitely scenarios where the blitz looks susceptible and it looks weak. Some of that gets solved by having better defence in and around the ruck, getting better connectedness and being set. I don’t think they should go away from it just yet. It is aggressive, it does look like it’s do-or-die, but I think it will be more successful when England are more dominant in their tackles up front, they’re set around the ruck.”

Youngs’ concern was when the blitz is deployed, citing the last play of the game when Australia were chasing the game as a time not to be so aggressive as it ultimately cost England.

This is clearly a time of transition for England in terms of their defensive strategy. Former defence coach Felix Jones frequently reiterated that it would take up to 18 months for England to be completely au fait with the system. His exit, and then the appointment of El-Abd, may have not only delayed that process, but may have muddied the waters and left plenty of confusion. That appears to be the case thus far this November.