With England having so many teams to pick from, it is often hard to replicate those club combinations at international level. When England were performing under Eddie Jones it was the Saracens players - and some from Exeter - that made up the core. ![]() Ireland are built on Leinster, France on Toulouse and New Zealand on the Crusaders. ![]() Trust and confidence in team direction is important, then chemistry can follow. With that in mind, I would start Alex Mitchell at nine and Owen Farrell at 10 - to have the strongest leader on the field to start - with a centre combination of Manu Tuilagi and Joe Marchant. With injuries to Ollie Chessum and Ollie Lawrence, Steve Borthwick is going to have to make changes and his most important decisions revolve around which combinations can make it most difficult for Ireland, with and without the ball. The set-piece is your team base to build from. England’s scrum and line-out functioned reasonably well, for example. This is why the use of first phase possession by the outside backs is so important to forwards and the subsequent phase play opportunities for the team.ĭespite the scoreline against France, it was not all bad. If you force your forwards to go backwards, then the attacking quick breakdown initiatives disappear. Vary the running threat and give the forwards front foot momentum at that first breakdown. When a nine arrives at the ruck, the decision on what they need to do should be obvious play quickly, slow it down or kick.īut these scenarios go back to good decisions being made by the half-backs from the set-piece. It must be said that he was not helped at all by his pack last weekend who struggled to compete at the breakdown. Van Poortvliet does have the ability to be a running threat in his armoury and he needs to rediscover that. Against a Shaun Edwards defence, that was never going to cut it. Against France, England’s attack was just that, largely using one out runners with no attempt to hold the French defenders nearest to the ruck. Importantly, having a running threat from nine keeps defences honest and makes an attack far less predictable. A quick clearout also presents chances to snipe around the breakdown which can lead to breaks and provide opportunities to offload in those tight channels, forcing defenders to have to step back to re-position. Quick ball does not mean teams must move the ball wide, however. With Nick Evans as attack coach, I expected England to play with variety, more width - even just one pass wider - and put the ball more consistently through the hands. ![]() But across the tournament it seems there has been a lack of clarity over how Borthwick’s side want to use it when it is generated, especially by set-piece. The Northampton scrum-half looked more of a running threat and injected the speed which ultimately led to Freddie Steward’s try.įrance dominated the breakdown against England, making quick ball a rarity. He provided real zip and energy to the attack and was not afraid to challenge defenders around the fringes of the ruck, which is something he carried into the start of his senior England career.īut over the course of the Six Nations, including in the hammering against France, he has been indecisive.Įngland’s attack showed more promise when Alex Mitchell was introduced. Jack van Poortvliet first caught my eye with impressive performances when he was playing in the U20s. Aaron Smith has been vital to the All Blacks’ success over the past decade, as has Faf de Klerk for South Africa.Įngland do not have that type of player at the moment and, for all the focus on the fly-half position, No 9 is far more of an issue for Steve Borthwick. For France it is Antoine Dupont, while Ireland are blessed to have both Jamison Gibson-Park and Conor Murray. If you look at all the best teams currently in world rugby, they are defined by a top quality scrum-half.
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