Manner of France defeat is proof England have yet to come to terms with World Cup final loss
It was telling that two individual moments of brilliance were all that England could proffer in Paris.
Against a defence fatigued by work already done, England’s Jonny May jinked forth to add a shine to England’s opening Six Nations weekend that probably wasn’t owing. Brilliant and individual, two adjectives with equal weight. But the latter always seems to matter more in a game of fifteen-a-side. One person can only do so much. And, in fact, he didn’t do enough. It was May who put up his hand so incredulously, beseeching referee Nigel Owens, as Rattez ran through, to gift France their crucial second.
It was most startling. That France, a team so traditionally full of individuals, was now a composed unit, working for each other with such selflessness. And it was England, a team so recently famous for its togetherness, now relying on individual moments of skill. And wilting under individual mistakes. Furbank was perhaps excusable in his fumbles; Farrell far less so. The World Cup final, it appears, was a crushing blow for England. A return to earth that shook harder than anyone had realised. The aftershock of which is still, seemingly, being felt.
Scotland had a glut of golden field position and must-score moments against Ireland, but couldn’t make any of them count. Yet @JLyall93 has picked out plenty of positives for Gregor Townsend's side.https://t.co/okBZIjk7Tq
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 3, 2020
We were told Eddie Jones had experienced grief. To combat it, post-Tokyo, he’d hauled himself up in a CrossFit boot camp and flagellated his body daily by trying to out-burpee those twenty years his junior. ‘The mistakes were mine,’ he uttered forth and, kettlebell in hand, vowed that the mission to be the best team in the world was still on.
He was typically bullish pre-match in Paris, offering ‘brutal physicality’ as a guarantee from his side. But international rugby, much like lycra on a sixty-year-old, tells the truth. And Jones could only watch as wave after wave of benign attack was repelled and the ball, all too often, was affably coughed up. That obdurate, pitchside scowl of his, chewing on those press conference words as if they were a wasp.
Why did he not pick an 8? Starting a Six Nations campaign, in Paris, against what looked like an incredibly capable French team, why move Curry to such a pivotal position? Perhaps this underplays France’s dominance. Maybe even with Dombrandt, Hughes or Simmonds (I mean, there’s actually three of them), the French would have beaten England.
But as the ball popped loose at the back of the scrum, and Dupont swung a boot to disrupt yet another England opportunity, you couldn’t help but think of that trio languishing back home. Well, languishing… Dombrandt was, in fact, rampaging once more for ‘Quins to win them a place in the Premiership Cup Final.
Without the Vunipolas or Tuilagi, who limped out with a familiar groin strain with barely a quarter of an hour played, England seemed bereft of penetration.
Aside from May’s rug cutting late on, it is difficult to bring to mind any moment where England got behind that first line of defence. It is an old question, one which has raised its head with Jones before, and one he will have to wrestle with ahead of Scotland. Incidentally, how do Scotland feel about the Calcutta Cup? Similarly fruitless on Saturday, they might now think more positively about playing host than when Hogg hamfisted the ball over the Irish line.
World Rugby introduced the five second law at the base of the ruck to counteract the rucking conga, yet the problem still exists.https://t.co/TIxuUiCZKj
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 3, 2020
Let’s talk French dominance though. It seems inextricably linked to signing Shaun Edwards. A feat especially clever when you remember he’d already agreed terms with at least two other teams. But what did he do with France to make the difference?
Aside from the technical elements of line speed and dominant tackles, this was a team utterly coordinated. To defend well you must move and think as one. This is the missing ingredient of French rugby full stop. And as a mindset, it bled into other parts of their game. They hunted lost ball in packs, wingers came looking for work, no one player was expected to work harder than anyone else. The back-row embodied the industry; Cros led the line purposefully, Alldarit was rightfully man of the match, and Ollivon, with a gait not dissimilar to Olivier Magne, was always on hand, sprinting in for two impressive scores.
Interestingly, each of their tries owed a lot to defence. The first and third indebted to reading the outside blitz tendencies of England. Rattez and his Roman nose on an inside line aimed at the pivot of the press for the first. And then Dupont finding a flimsy blindside and a flailing Youngs after England, again, engaged too eagerly at a lineout. The middle score was fortuitous, but the chase of the up and under had Edwards’ Wigan accent haranguing it down the park. A new voice has brought them renewed purpose.
A performance full of enterprise from Wales against a lacklustre Italian side has left Wayne Pivac with a few selection dilemmas ahead of Dublin, according to @OwainJTJones https://t.co/dYuZIyIoc6
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 3, 2020
You see, it wasn’t just England who lost the World Cup. France did too. But, it appears, they’ve come to terms with it. Realised what they were doing was not going to make them the best team in the world, and have moved on. And yet because of what happened in Yokohama, because of how close to a sporting summit they came, how false the feeling of beating New Zealand was, England have not. The same men are in the boat, all rowing the same way. Chasing the wave of what could, would, should have been.
In defeating the All Blacks and then losing to the ‘Boks, England grabbed hold of a terrible mantle: an uncrowned king. And with it, a gown so heavy that it weighs everyone down. The final did irreparably damage. Mainly because it took something out of those players that means the blueprint from the semi-final is now unattainable. And yet England are still grasping for it. Like a spectral sceptre, so apparent, yet so tantalisingly out of reach.
Had injury not intervened, would Eddie have changed any of his title cast? He is still looking for something, which I think has gone. He has not fully come to terms with his grief. And until he does, I cannot see an upward turn.
Watch: Harry Johnson-Holmes interview
Comments on RugbyPass
It was a pleasure to watch those guys playing with such confidence. That trio can all be infuriating for different reasons and I can see why Jones might have decided against them. No way to justify leaving Ikitau out though. Jorgensen and him were both scheduled to return at the same time. Only one of them plays for Randwick and has a dad who is great mates with the national coach though.
53 Go to commentsBrayden Iose and Peter Lakai are very exciting Super Rugby players but are too short and too light to ever be a Test 8 vs South Africa, France, Ireland, and England, Lakai could potentially be a Test player at 7 if he is allowed to focus on 7 for Hurricanes.
5 Go to commentsPencils “Thomas du Toit” into possible 2027 Bok squad.
1 Go to commentsDon’t see why Harrison makes the bench. Jones can play at 10 if needed, and there is a good case for starting her there to begin with if testing combinations. That would leave room for Sing on the bench
1 Go to commentsWhat a load of old bull!
1 Go to commentsOf 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.
29 Go to commentsIrish Rugby CEO be texting Andy Farrell “Andy, i found our next Kiwi Irishman”
5 Go to commentsI certainly don’t miss drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games being played in NZ.
1 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
5 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
3 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to commentsThe current AB coaching team is basically the Crusaders so it smacks of wanting their familiar leaders around. This is not a good look for the future of the ABs or the younger players in Super working their way up the player ladder. Razor is touted as innovative, forward looking but his early moves look like insecurity and insular, provincial thinking. He is the AB's coach not the Golden Oldies.
10 Go to comments