In top football, ditching a coach usually produces a “bounce” — the players in a beleaguered Premier League side snap to attention, bring new intensity to their work and show commitment. Rugby seems to handle it differently — at least if the revamped England and Wales outfits are anyguide in their respective losses to Scotland and Ireland this weekend.
With New Zealand Rugby apparently considering an early appointment for All Blacks coach post-World Cup, the England and Wales experience might give NZR pause for thought after their two new coaches, Steve Borthwick and Warren Gatland respectively, suffered unhappy losses in the first round of the Six Nations.
Wales, a team now only months away from the World Cup, have a depth problem. Several old stagers now seem on the part of the hill which warns trucks to engage a lower gear. Alun Wyn Jones made his Six Nations debut in 2006, while Justin Tipuric, Taulupe Faletau, George North, Dan Biggar and Alex Cuthbert have all been playing Six Nations since 2011 or 2012. The younger brigade seem promising but are undercooked in international terms.
They seem to have regressed from the side that at least provided a first-half comeback against the All Blacks before the latter put 50 points on them last year. Ireland, on the other hand, looked menacingly efficient in the first half, clearing away 27-3 at the break. Some will make much of Wales sharing second half honours 7-7 but Gatland will know the game was gone by halftime.
Ireland — with their coaching team nicely intact, thank you very much — were missing three first-teamers but, while their mental focus waned in the second half, their overall effectiveness was undiminished. Now they just have to avoid the common Irish practice of peaking ahead of the World Cup.
England, on the other hand, are nowhere near peak. Borthwick has a battle on his hands — personnel were changed, many Eddie Jones rejects were restored, but some of the same problems remained from the Jones era. The scrum was supposed to be a Borthwick focus but it was loose — comfortably handled by the Scots until prop Dan Cole came on, one of the replacements for the free-running front-rowers Ellis Genge and Kyle Sinckler.
Scotland's Duhan van der Merwe beats England's Oliver Chessum on the way to scoring his side's second try. Photo / AP
There was serious trumpeting of the prowess of new defence coach and former league international Kevin Sinfield but, when it mattered, the England defence didn’t. Scots winger Duhan van der Merwe scored one of the individual tries of the season (already) when he skipped, stepped and jigged his way all too easily past five England defenders in a 60-metre solo try. The last, No 8 Alex Dombrandt, was embarrassingly fended off as he came in too high.
Dombrandt did some strong carrying — but he also handed Scotland a second try when he spilled a kick-off. He was gone after 55 minutes; a World Cup spot may now be beyond him.
England’s defence also opened like a flower feeling the rays of the sun for Scotland’s first try, scored from a midfield bust and grubber. Flanker Ben Curry, identical twin of Tom, made a later gaffe by appearing round a ruck too early, allowing Scotland halfback Ben White to scamper over for a try.
England will be better than this, no doubt, and were also missing injured players. But they still have niggling worries. Borthwick decided they could do without the powerful Manu Tuilagi in midfield and, though former Blues player Joe Marchant played well enough, England clearly lost out to the Scots there.
Marcus Smith played well at first-five and has real attacking promise. On the whole, England’s passing and catching was good, evidence perhaps of the influence of New Zealand attack coach Nick Evans. But the Smith-Owen Farrell midfield still doesn’t feel quite right — something’s missing and Smith looks like he could be pressured by an in-your-face defence.
England's Marcus Smith reacts after losing to Scotland. Photo / AP
That said, there were positives. If Ollie Chessum doesn’t become England’s top lock, there’s something wrong. He’s 2.01m and nearly 120kg and can run like a horse; he has a Richie McCaw-type engine and can play loose forward against the bigger sides, like South Africa, if required. He put Maro Itoje in the shade against Scotland.
Fullback Freddie Steward is a fine defensive bulwark (though his was one of the glaring missed tackles on van der Merwe). The high ball is nothing to him and his size means he usually exacts a price from the opposition when he carries back a kick. If he can add better playmaking from the back on attack, he will be a real force come World Cup time.
The other big question is over England’s game plan. It was clearly to kick for territory, resulting in some tedious long-distance kick tennis, for the first half especially. Pinning the Scots back almost worked. However, a poorly judged kick from replacement halfback Ben Youngs, for so long a good player for England, allowed the Scots to spring the trap, counter-attacking until they finished with van der Merwe’s second try 80m away to clinch the game.
So England are right back where they started with Jones — uncertain selections, puzzling lapses and weaknesses where they are supposed to be strong.
