Toothless England look a shadow of former selves
It was an inauspicious start on Sunday for the coaching team of Eddie Jones, John Mitchell, Steve Borthwick, Matt Proudfoot and Simon Amor, as England looked listless and without direction in their 24-17 Guinness Six Nations loss to France in Paris.
In a dire first half, England shipped 17 unanswered points to a youthful and energised French side and, were it not for two pieces of individual brilliance from Jonny May in the second half, the final score could have well looked far worse for the recent Rugby World Cup finalists.
For many, the performance was a stark reminder of England’s struggles in 2018, when the team lacked for balance and was regularly overpowered, particularly in the forward pack and in the midfield. There have been few, if any, worse 40-minute displays from England under Jones than that opening half against France.
Whether through a lack of physicality or inventiveness in attack, England completely lacked for incision and despite enjoying the lion’s share of possession and territory, not to mention numerous entries into the French 22, they could not create opportunities in the same fashion their opponents did. Those that they did create were swiftly squandered.
Plenty of credit must go to France, too, who looked a vastly improved side from their struggles at the Rugby World Cup. Charles Ollivon was excellent in his new role as captain, whilst Gregory Alldritt and Bernard Le Roux shone alongside him as leaders by example in the pack. Antoine Dupont and Romain Ntamack dovetailed nicely in the half-backs and France’s exciting back line had no trouble shutting down England defensively, in addition to their obvious attacking ability.
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Watch: Owen Farrell and Eddie Jones face the press after the loss in Paris
If there was one area of positivity for England, it was the performance of their scrum under the tutelage of new coach Proudfoot, the same man who had masterminded the South African destruction of the English set-piece just a few months ago in Japan. Joe Marler, Jamie George and Kyle Sinckler all enjoyed scrum dominance over their opposite numbers, whilst Ellis Genge maintained that superiority when he arrived from the bench in the second half.
Away from the scrum, though, it was a tale of ineffectiveness, as England looked to lack all the dynamism that had served them so well at the Rugby World Cup. Even powerful carriers like Sinckler and Maro Itoje were dulled in Paris, as the back row of Courtney Lawes, Sam Underhill and Tom Curry struggled to lay the same aggressive foundation that had made it such a feared group last year.
To put some numbers alongside that, England’s starting and bench forwards only made 79m on a total of 86 carries, at an average of 0.92m per carry. Sinckler, whose attacking involvements had been so ruthless at the Rugby World Cup, accounted for just 2m on his 10 carries. Without the Vunipola brothers breaking the gain-line and providing quick ball for the rest of the pack to work with, England looked lost in a Parisian sea of blue shirts and impressive line-speed.
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
England’s kick and chase game, another area where they prospered during the Rugby World Cup, also looked a shell of its former self, as they regularly over-kicked their chase and gave the French back three – and Alldritt – time and space to beat the first one or two chasers and then gouge England for more significant gains. Whether it was Ben Youngs box-kicking from a slow ruck or George Ford trying to push the corners from first receiver, England were unable to find space, territory or their chasers, as their proactive kicking from last year looked long gone.
The back line was also uncharacteristically error prone, as Owen Farrell dropped a simple pass under no pressure, Ford and debutant George Furbank struggled to connect in the midfield and the wings, aside from May’s two impressive solo efforts in the second half, were starved of the ball. Youngs’ missed tackle on Vincent Rattez for the Frenchman’s try and May’s lack of chasing back on Ollivon’s first score were representative of a terrible day at the office for a side that was dissecting and punishing the All Blacks just two games previously.
With defence, attack and work at the contact area all falling well below their usual standards, England have a lot of questions to answer before they take to Murrayfield on the weekend and contest the Calcutta Cup, with Scotland’s performance in Dublin having comfortably surpassed that of England’s in Paris.
An ability to get over the gain-line is surely priority number one for Jones and the other coaches, although the lack of a physical No 8 in the squad, with Alex Dombrandt and Nathan Hughes excluded, does not help them in that goal. Within the squad, a start for Lewis Ludlam would help England punch holes in the Scottish defence, whilst Ben Earl would also offer an intriguing option in that regard.
Could the French powerhouse truly be back? #GuinnessSixNations pic.twitter.com/DKtPeDKmoD
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 3, 2020
Away from the back row, despite how well Marler played against France, starting Genge is another way to generate more front-foot ball. Bringing Kruis back into the second row could also be key, with Charlie Ewels having struggled to replicate that same physicality as a one-out runner, a strategy that England consistently went to, with little success, throughout the game in Paris.
Unless Dombrandt gets called into the squad in the next day or so and he can provide a like-for-like replacement for the ball-carrying lost by Vunipola’s absence, Jones needs to re-evaluate the balance of his pack. Scotland won’t test England as physically as France did, but it remains the most significant Achilles’ heel for Jones’ side.
The arrival of Heinz coincided with a higher tempo and the effectiveness of the kicking game, which saw England able to kick on their own terms and with urgency, rather than on slower ball and with no other option, understandably improved. On the display in Paris alone, there is a strong case for Heinz to start in Edinburgh. A quicker tempo will have a positive knock-on effect on the kicking games of Ford and Farrell, too.
One other area where England need to find an alternative is in their midfield, where Manu Tuilagi’s early departure through injury saw them looking toothless. Without the pack getting over the gain-line and the half-backs delivering quick ball, Jonathan Joseph was not able to have the impact that he would have wanted to. Jones still needs to find a physical centre that can, even on slower ball, run directly and get England moving forward.
One man in particular came in for plenty of praise following France's impressive defeat of England.https://t.co/i7GNGzY4T8
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 3, 2020
Inside Jones’ squad, these options are few and far between, although there are a couple of candidates currently impressing in the Gallagher Premiership, not least so Mark Atkinson and Ollie Lawrence. The two options represent players at different ends of their careers, though the physical impact they could both bring would be beneficial. Atkinson, utilised as an inside centre, would allow Jones to move Farrell back to fly-half, a switch he has been comfortable with previously, whilst Lawrence would give England incision, power and an effective outside break in the 13 jersey.
That all said, Jones has never been one to bow to media pressure. He has selected this squad with a clear plan in mind and it will likely take more than one poor result to cause him to make any sort of wholesale changes to the XV or the larger group. He needs to see a marked improvement this week, though.
If England can’t find a way to make more of the possession and territorial advantages they enjoyed against France, the media pressure is only going to grow. The longer the timespan to that memorable and thoroughly impressive win over New Zealand becomes, the shorter people’s patience will become. A run to the final only raises a demanding fanbase’s expectations.
Watch: Sonny Bill Williams’ return to League ends in defeat
Comments on RugbyPass
This 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.
2 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 commentsSimple reason for wanting him back. Robertson wants him as captain. Otherwise he wouldn’t be bothering chasing him. Not enough reason to come back just to mentor.
10 Go to commentsI had not considered this topic like this at all, brilliant read. I had been looking at his record at the Waratahs and thought it odd the Crusaders appointed him, then couple that with all that experience and talent departing and boom. They’ve got some great talent developing though, and in all honesty I don’t think anyone would be over confident taking them on in a playoff match, no matter how poor the first half of their season was. I think they can pull a game out of their ass when it counts.
2 Go to commentsNot a bad list but not Porecki and not Donaldson. Not because they are Tahs, or Ex Tahs, they are just not good enough. Edmed should be ahead. Far more potential. Wilson should be 8 and Valentini 6. Wilson needs to be told by his father and his coach, stop bloody running in to brick wall defence. You’re not playing under the genius Thorn any more. He’s a fantastic angle runner. The young new 8 from the Brumbies looks really good too. The Lonegrans are just too small for international rugby as is Paisami, as is Hamish Stewart at 12. Both great at Super Rugby level. Stewart could have been a great 10 if not for Brad Thorn. Uru should be there and so should Tupou. Tupou just needs good Australian coaching which he hasn’t been getting. I don’t think Schmidt will excite him.
3 Go to commentsIf he wants to come back then he should. He will be a major asset to the younger locks and could easily be played as an impact player off the bench coming on in the last 30. He is fit, strong and capable and has all the experience to make up for any loss in physical prowess. He could also be brought back with a view to coaching within the structures one day. Duane Vermeulen played until he was 37 or 38. He is now a roaming coach within the South African coaching structures. He was valuable in the last world cup and has been a major influence on Jasper Wiese and other young players which has helped and accelerated their development and growth. Whitelock could do the exact same thing for NZ
10 Go to commentsBrett Excellent words… finally someone (other than DC) has noted that Hanigan is very hard and very good at doing what Backrow should do… his performance via the Drua sauna was quite daunting for those on the other side… very high tackle count… carries with good end result… constant threat to make a good 20-25 meters with those long legs… providing his mass effectively to crunching the Drua pack… Finally he is returning to quality form… way to much injury time over the last 2 years… smart-strong-competent in his skills… caught every lineout throw aimed at him and delivered clean pass to whoever was down below… and he worked hard for the whole 80 minutes… Ned has to be in the top 5 for backrow honors… He knows what is required as he has been there before…
20 Go to commentsI think Sam Whitelock should not touch a return with a bargepole. He went out on a high, playing in the RWC Final. He would be coming back into a team that will be weaker than last years, and might even be struggling to win games, especially against the Boks. Stay in France, enjoy another year with Pau, playing alongside his brother.
10 Go to commentsRyan Coxon has been very impressive considering he was signed by WF as injury cover whilst Uru has been a standout for QR, surprised neither of those mentioned
3 Go to commentsIt’s the massive value he brings with regard team culture/values, preparation, etc. Can’t buy that. I’m hoping to see the young locks get their chance in the big games though.
10 Go to comments