Monday 1 December 2014 16:09, UK
The verdict in the aftermath of England’s win against Australia was clear enough. England’s pack and George Ford came out on top of the superior Australian back line. In English ranks there was a feeling of relief rather than ecstasy.
It had not been the triumphant march through the month Stuart Lancaster had hoped for. In the end England were desperate and happy enough for the second win, never mind the three wins Lancaster said was a minimum prior to the month.
As a self-contained series of matches November has proved a disappointment but as a part of the development towards the World Cup, it could yet prove most beneficial. England should now know what they can and cannot do against the best teams in the world.
They cannot expect to beat the All Blacks by emulating their style of attack and for over a year England’s attacking shape has born a similar resemblance to that of New Zealand. The pod of forwards and the second wave of backs; the late and subtle passes or the sweeping waves of attacking play behind those forwards, doing their maximum damage in the wider parts of the field.
England do not have the requisite individual skill in terms of the forwards or the sheer ability (born of a mastery of the basics it has to be admitted) in the backs. Lancaster’s team has to narrow its ambitions quite literally. Clive Woodward’s team tested themselves to the limit between World Cups and got a lot further from the middle ground than this team has but they had a host of the world’s best players, or certainly contenders.
It is understandable they were capable of a more advanced game. The test for the management between now and the World Cup is: a) to get back to regular winning ways and b) to strip their style back to the one with the best chance of winning the World Cup.
If that means several steps backwards from where they at times were a year ago then take those several steps.....I digress briefly....just been interrupted by the window cleaner who says it was good to beat the Aussies but we’ll never be as good as the All Blacks....and that’s the point.
Never might be strong but for the foreseeable future trading punch for punch is a dumb idea. The scrum, the line out and the sheer running power of the pack with a back line picked to complement the forwards...well, that might yet be another matter. Who knows? Slammin’ Sam may yet be the saviour. But he won’t save a team playing wide rugby without the artillery to strike wide.
The first try at the weekend was classic England. Strong scrum and bruising if unsubtle running line from the midfield and two forwards running hard, narrow channels through the Wallaby defence; this was the game plan that had the All Blacks wobbling in Dunedin before England expanded their ambitions and lost their way.
With a fly-half capable of putting the pack in the right parts of the field to do maximum damage and a pack able to deliver a platform for the half-backs (Ben Youngs kicked extremely well too), England don’t have to be the prettiest team in the world to have a shot of glory. They do have to be dynamic and territorial.
On Saturday they showed more than a glimpse; they revealed the way they have to play. Stop worrying about the backs, make them chasers of kicks (Johnny May was exemplary), tacklers and potent straight runners.
On the evidence of this month, make them more like Ireland. Joe Schmidt’s team were second best, like England, against the Australians in the open field but their tactics were terrific around the breakdown (chapeaus off to Chris Robshaw who produced a fine performance on Saturday alongside Tom Wood and Ben Morgan) and they kicked clinically.
The Leinster pyrotechnics were nowhere to be seen, Schmidt changed his game plan to beat what Warren Gatland calls `the big beasts’ and claimed two heads. Ireland are in a good place heading into the Six Nations.
They will be a daunting challenge for England, so too Wales on a Friday night in Cardiff; win or lose against South Africa, Wales would have been a challenge for the most traditional of reasons. Now they have the win, the confidence will be that level higher and that will make Wales especially dangerous. Their head coach is saying with a few bounces of the ball Wales could win the World Cup. Right now he should perhaps, along with Lancaster, be quietly dreaming of escaping the pool and take what comes after that.
Michael Cheika will forge a united Wallaby team with a better front and back row but there are no fresh props and only eight months to sort out a scrum that has been an Achilles Heel going back, say, way towards infinity. They have shown against Wales, Ireland, France and England how dangerous they can be but with a struggling set-piece they have it all to do against England...but Wales are up against 10 straight Australian wins. Every coach has dismissed the theory of psychological advantage to such a degree you KNOW there is something to it and there is.
No player would say the confidence that comes from beating an opponent regularly does not give an edge in a tight game and few players would deny that regular losses deprive you of that deep-seated inner belief required to win games when struggling. For that reason Australia are favourites to beat Wales. If Wales beat England in Cardiff, has there ever been a beautifully poised pool, even before the tournament begins?
Elsewhere Scotland and Argentina had fine autumns and New Zealand were New Zealand. Few would disagree they are deserved favourites to win the World Cup, a competition they have never won outside New Zealand.....
Before then, European battles and I am off to what I suspect will be the pick of the weekend’s games, Munster versus Clermont. If the truth be told I cannot see Munster losing but in this pool almost as important are those little bonus points that make such a difference. It is anything but easy for so many professionals to come straight from the international field to the European one, a massive demand for them but a delight for us as we head into round three.
As Bob Dylan sings on `The Basement Tapes’, “It’s not a bad way to make a living and I ain’t complaining....” he goes to Acapulco in this particular song, I’ll settle for Limerick.
Stuart answers your emails...
Got a question for Stuart? Email him at skysportsclub@bskyb.com, Tweet @SkySportsRugby #askskyrugby or use the feedback form below.
Stuart, well done to Wales for beating South Africa. I do really feel for SA as I don't think this game should have happened. Why do the IRB let these games go ahead outside of the international window? It seems to me that profit comes ahead of player welfare. If this is the end of Jean de Villiers after that horrific injury it would be a crying shame and the people who have profited from this game should be ashamed of themselves.
Neil Alrens
STUART REPLIES: Neil, There is an issue with international games being played outside the window and there is no doubt profit figures pretty high in the rationale. Without a break, Welsh and English players are likely to be thrown straight into Europe this week, tough. As for Jean de Villers, these things happen and there's no way he would not have wanted to be in that Boks shirt. As for `the end', I am no doctor so there's really nothing I can say than fingers crossed, and get well Jean, one of the gentlemen and stars of the sport.
Hello Mr Barnes, while I am just as excited about Sam Burgess as the next person I do feel that it is a shame that Ollie Devoto's career looks like it has to be away from Bath. I really think that he could be a world class No 12 and I hope Bath develop him as much as they plan to develop Burgess or else his future looks like to be at another club. What do you think of this backline for the Saxons: Cipriani, Nowell, Devoto, Slade, Wade, Foden.
Alan
STUART REPLIES: Alan, It's a good back line but don't be surprised if Ollie is replaced by err, Sam Burgess.
So Wales can now win the World Cup can they after beating South Africa on Saturday? Really? That was one of the worst performances I have ever seen from a South African side against a Wales side who HAD to win - and lets not talk about the ref! The same goes for England - their forwards pummelled a very weak Aussie scrum and suddenly they are world beaters? Whenever they come up against a side who can match them physically they fall to pieces. Please can we stop bigging up these sides because they have beaten below par sides 11 months out. At this stage Ireland look like the only real contenders for competing with the big boys from down South!
James Keether
STUART REPLIES: James, only Warren Gatland said Wales could win and he did add the caveat `with the bounce of the ball'. As for England, who exactly said they were world beaters? Not the press, not the broadcasters and not Stuart Lancaster, even though, ironically enough, that pack makes them at least world challengers if they get their tactics spot on. As for Ireland, who doesn't think they have been the best of Europe this November?
So the international window has finally come to an end - who are the winners and losers from the campaign and what have we learnt from our game heading into 2015 from an international point of view?
Gav
STUART REPLIES: Gav, winners: New Zealand, Ireland, Scotland and Argentina. Losers: Australia. What have we learnt? The losers should not be written off as contenders (certainly capable of beating a team higher ranked than them) if perhaps not WC winners.
Stuart, seems to me that the scrum has once more become a debacle and simply a penalty opportunity. I’m sick of seeing one side hold you till the other gives away the penalty, it’s not a great spectacle. Surely it’s time to put a time limit on the scrum so that it once again becomes a way to start the game rather than a penalty opportunity?
Regards, Dave
STUART REPLIES: Dave, The scrum has never been just a way to restart the game. Ugly, yes....an intrinsic part of the game, also yes. Scrums enable the game to be played in various ways and remains the main distinguishing point between the two forms of rugby, even more than the six tackle rule. It defines strategy. If England won because their pack was more influential than Australia's excellent backs that's all part of the sport's lovely light and shade.
