Why England have fallen in the Six Nations since 2020
Eddie Jones’ arrival as England head coach in 2016 coincided with the peak years of a golden generation on the rise at Nigel Wray’s ill-fated experiment at Saracens.
For better or worse, the financial engineering built a superpower of a club of which provided Jones’ side with the backbone of his England side. He had a ready-made champion forward pack to hit the ground running when he started his tenure.
Mako Vunipola, Jamie George, Maro Itoje, Billy Vunipola, George Kruis, Owen Farrell all entered their peak years in 2016, and Saracens were already at the top of the domestic scene.
They had claimed the Premiership title in May 2015, less than six months before England’s World Cup flame-out in September.
Just three out of the starting England XV, 20 percent, were Saracens players against Wales during that World Cup, while against Australia, that number shrunk to two, neither of whom were in the forward pack.
By the time England went on their 2016 summer tour of Australia, Saracens had captured a second straight Premiership title and their first European crown. Selecting the backbone of the Saracens team was a no-brainer and boded well for England.
Against the Wallabies that June, 50 percent of the England pack were now Saracens players. Mako and Billy Vunipola started at prop at No 8, respectively, while Maro Itoje and George Kruis packed down in the second row.
When Jamie George took over the starting hooker role from Dylan Hartley, that number rose to 62.5 percent of the starting pack.
This had enormous benefits for England. They had been already playing together for years, offering a foundation level of chemistry to work from and had incredible coaching and success under Mark McCall.
They had already proven to be one of the best packs in the Heineken Cup, which proved promising for Six Nations action. They had the power to bully the likes of Ireland and Scotland, and the might to beat France and Wales in a dogfight.
Taking most of your forwards from one successful club isn’t a foolproof strategy, but it does happen frequently with successful test sides.
Looking at the current Ireland side who finished second behind France, 87.5 percent of the starting pack is from Leinster. Just one starting forward, Tadhg Beirne, doesn’t play for Leinster, but he originally came through that development system.
The 2019 Springboks pack was similarly dominated by one club team, the Stormers.
Starters Bongi Mbonambi, Frans Malherbe, Eben Etzebeth, Siya Kolisi, Pieter-Steph du Toit were all at the Cape Town club at the time, while Duane Vermuelen had played 89 times for the club between 2009-15 .
75 percent of the starting forward pack in the World Cup final were either current or ex-Stormers. On the bench, Steven Kitshoff and Francois Louw were long-tenured Stormers and Western Province products, and Vincent Koch had a two-year stint there.
Any forward pack needs time to perfect deep lineout playbooks, develop collective scrummaging chemistry and understand carrying, passing, cleaning, and running line tendencies.
Playing week-in, week-out at club level certainly helps speed up the process to build a cohesive unit.
Saracens’ success quickly became England’s success as Jones slowly began building his team around this young core in 2016, taking the remaining experienced hands from the 2015 failure and fusing it with the Saracens core over time.
The Vunipola brothers offered power running that steamrolled opposition packs and dented backlines. From short lineout packages, Billy was a force from set-piece lining up in the midfield.
Mako, on the other hand, nearly always netted a positive gain line when carrying in close quarters, and between George, Itoje and Kruis, the lineout ball was reliable.
The platform up front was there consistently for a backline to put it together.
Chief playmaker Owen Farrell resumed a lifelong partnership with George Ford that began in age-grade rugby as a 10-12 axis.
Outside them, athletes like Manu Tuilagi, Anthony Watson, Elliot Daly, Jonathan Joseph, Jack Nowell, Jonny May, Chris Ashton and Henry Slade were interchangeable depending on whether Jones wanted speed or power, or a combination of both.
When the Saracens’ salary cap breaches came to light and put the club in turmoil, England was bound to suffer as a result.
Having your test pack play rugby in the English Championship is not the ideal situation. Trying to keep the squad from fracturing due to club animosities was another challenge.
Under Jones, England did hold it together to win another Six Nations title in 2020 and the Autumn Nations Cup that November with largely the same squad.
Saracens pushed through to the Heineken Cup semi-finals, falling short to Racing 92, despite playing for nothing in the Premiership having been stripped of competition points.
In 2021, when Saracens officially headed to the Championship, the wheels came off for England.
The fifth-place finish in the Six Nations forced Jones to consider the reset button and start a rebuild. By doing so, he would potentially lose the cohesion of his forward pack, but perhaps be in a better place by 2023.
He made the call to break up the Saracens pack, but the reality for Jones was England’s new Premiership-winning teams just weren’t at the level the London-based club were at.
Harlequins won the 2020 domestic title, but were rolled in European competition, failing to make the round of 16 in 2020-21.
They are faring much better this season, with four wins from four in pool play, with two wins each over Castres and Cardiff. The jury is still out, though, as they don’t have the runs on the board in Europe that Saracens had.
Leicester Tigers are the new Premiership frontrunners, with Saracens and Harlequins filling out the top three, but the Tigers aren’t proven yet against the best in Europe either.
As a result, this year’s English pack is a liquorice all sorts as the new clubs rise in England.
The starting forward pack against France was two from Bath (25 percent), one from Leicester (12.5 percent), one from Exeter, two from Northampton, and two from Saracens.
Against Ireland, it was two from Saracens, one from Exeter, one from Sale, one from Northampton, one from Bath, one from Harlequins and one from Leicester.
There is an easy conclusion to be made that there is no cohesion in this pack yet. In addition, the younger players haven’t dominated all before them either.
Alex Dombrandt is a quality player in the Premiership, but doesn’t yet have the experience of playing, and beating, the best of Europe with Harlequins like Billy Vunipola.
Sam Simmonds is another quality Premiership player in a similar boat. Exeter had European success in 2020 but struggled for a long time to make a deep European run.
Picking quality players from all the different Premiership teams and trying to mould an England pack with limited preparation windows is a very tall ask, one that Jones hasn’t had to really do since becoming England head coach.
There is simply not enough time to build cohesion at the level Eddie’s old England pack had.
The ready-made Saracens pack, already champions of Europe with years of experience who dominated all before them, was a drag and drop install that instantly made England one of the world’s best test sides, certainly a top two team in Europe.
Is it any surprise that France won a Grand Slam this year with a side made up of largely Toulouse and La Rochelle players? The two clubs were in the European final last year, and then again in the Top 14 final. Toulouse have been a force in Europe for the last four years.
Of the 13 forwards in France’s playing 23 against England, eight (61.5 percent) were from Toulouse or La Rochelle. The halves, Antoine Dupont and Romain Ntamack, have also been playing together at Toulouse for a long time.
What happened at Saracens derailed England at the same time. That Billy Vunipola’s test career is stalled or over is indicative of the damage done. As a 29-year-old No 8, he hasn’t reached the retirement age of that position.
The Saracens-era for England should have continued for a few years and potentially been there at the 2023 World Cup.
Jones believed the path of a reset was necessary, but English domestic rugby doesn’t have another pack like it, so it will take time to forge one. Perhaps time that Jones might not have.
The likes of Ireland can rely on Leinster and France are banking on the success of Toulouse and La Rochelle and the 2022 Six Nations showed it is hard to match that chemistry.
Comments on RugbyPass
Musk defends anonymous terrorism, fascism, threats against individuals and children etc etc But a Rugby club account….lock ‘em up!!!
1 Go to commentsActually the era defining moment came a few years earlier. February 2002 to be precise, when Michael D Higgins as finance minister at the time introduced his sports persons tax relief bill to the dial. As the politicians of the day stated “It seems to be another daft K Club frolic born in Kildare amongst the well-paid professional jockeys with whom the Minister plays golf” and that the scheme represented “a savage uncaring vision of Ireland and one that should be condemned”. The irfu and Leinster would be nowhere near the position they are in today without this key component of the finances.
2 Go to commentsIt is crystal clear that people who make such threats on line should be tried and imprisoned. Those with responsibility in social media companies who don’t facilitate this should be convicted. In real life, I have free speech to approach someone like Reinach and verbally threaten him. I am risking a conviction or a slap but I could do it. In the old days, If someone anonymously threatened someone by letter the police would ask and use evidence from the postal system. Unlike the Post, social media companies have complete instant and legal access to the content in social media. They make money from the data, billions. Yet, they turn a blind eye to terrorism, Nazi-ism and industrial levels of threats against individuals including their address and childrens schools being published online all from ananoymous accounts not real speech. They claim free speech. The fault is with the perps but also social media companies who think anonymous personas posting death threats constitutes free speech.
2 Go to commentsSo if this ain’t the best Irish team ever then who exactly is? I don’t remember any other Irish team being this good & winning a series in the Land of the Long White Cloud. Yes I may rip them often for 8 X QF RWC exits & twice not even making it to the QF, but they’re a damn good team who many think can only improve, including me!
67 Go to commentsNot a squeek out of Leinster for weeks about this match. So quiet. The first team have been quitely building for this encounter under Nienaber’s direction. All fresh, all highly motivated. They are expecting a season’s best performance from Northhampton. They will match that. They will be fresher and apparently they will have 80,000 out of the 83,000 shouting for them. I do expect Northhampton to turn up big time. Not to be missed. On a tangent it is evident how the loss of a few Premiership teams has in some respect helped other Premiership teams and England. More quality over less teams makes the teams better, which has a knock on effect on England. Not the only factor contributing to England’s rise but one of them.
2 Go to commentsOur very own monster teddy bear Ox😍💪
17 Go to commentsThis is might be the most generalised, entitled, patronising, out-of-pocket cultural indictment on a group of people you’ll ever see on what is supposedly a sports publication. I can only assume the author is weak like a woman or homosexual. I’m feeling an incredible range of emotions but I am not quite sure how to express them. I might go beat up a hockey player - assuming that’s okay with Duane and the boys? 🙂
9 Go to commentsBest thing the Welsh clubs could do is apply to join Gallagher prem surely be more exciting matches for there support than they have now.
2 Go to commentsRugbyPass writers are useless! you guys should get a real job because you all suck at writing about rugby!!!
9 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?
24 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.
67 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.
24 Go to commentsYeah, and ours is waaay bigger than yours. Just as you's get a semi…oh hold on that never happens
67 Go to commentsLove watching
1 Go to comments