England to pip Les Bleus in Six Nations

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By James Mortimer, 12 Mar 2009 James Mortimer is a Roar Pro

Tagged:: England, France, Six Nations, Wayne Barnes

England last week took the extraordinary step of having a meeting with the country’s top referee Wayne Barnes. After spending time practicing defensive drills with fourteen men in the last few weeks, it seems that Martin Johnson will try anything to arrest England’s woes.

Ten yellow cards in four matches.

With fifteen men on the field, they have not had their try line breached, but have conceded 30 points while a man pays for their sins off the field.

This is costing England matches.

While working with Barnes, they deconstructed the 41 penalties that England has conceded in this Six Nations, as well as assessing the performance of Stu Dickenson. The simple fact is that England will be watched harshly.

While the analysis of their penalties were divided into three categories, acceptable, unacceptable and grey – any 50/50 call will invariably go against England.

For now, Johnson has not made an example of his men, although one could imagine the size of the veins on the former World Cup winning English captain’s forehead at post match briefings.

This may be the problem, although it is said that the squad was subjected to extra training runs as punishment at their recent camp in Yorkshire. But if these men are indeed the best England has to offer, Johnson can ill afford to drop players.

But really, England has lost the habit of winning.

They have beaten only Italy and the Pacific Islands since the last Six Nations, and one could unleash all form of expletives on the state of this England team.

It is difficult to agree with captain Steve Borthwick, who has said that England’s discipline issues are a thing of the past. But one could concur with the surprising optimism that is coming from the team and coaches alike.

England has scored eight tries this Six Nations, only one behind ladder leaders Ireland. Statistically, Johnson’s team knows how to attack.

Against Ireland they made more attacking breaks and made far more ball carrying metres that the championship leader’s, and more than once opened up Wales’ supposed impenetrable defence.

All this is despite still not having settled on a first choice playmaker.

But it has been their defence that has recently caught the eye.

They have conceded only three tries, the equal best record in the Six Nations, and have a tackle success rate well over 90 percent.

Modern rugby is being won and lost by efficient defences, and no doubt England has this modus operandi.

Stop conceding poor penalties and this England team will start winning matches: it is a simple formula to be able to turn the corner.

Worryingly for England, though, is that they face a team that may have already turned.

Quite simply, Les Bleus were magnificent against Wales in their last match. They proudly continued the chameleon styled tradition of the French, looking average at periods in the championship before the necessary injection of passion made them world beaters.

Led by Imanol Harinordoquy, the Tri Colours backrow had a match that you could record and play for any budding loose forward wanting to learn such arts.

When the French were not dominating the rucks, a brilliant spearheaded defence marshalled by their Panzar like centres all but completely shut down the vaunted Red Dragons attack.

But most impressive was the way they adjusted their game and field tactics.

They quickly figured out the Welsh pattern of play and coordinated a match not so much based around their own style, but with the intention to completely shut the defending champions down.

The mark of class, and experience; understated throughout the tournament is that despite sporadic youth, this is indeed a team of French elder statesmen.

Seven of the match squad are over 30.

Like England, question marks exist over their revolving door for their first five eighths, with neither team wielding a world class playmaker.

But outside of this, it is a team with plenty of menace.

Sebastian Chabel has been selected in the back row, teaming with Harinordoquy and Thierry Dusautoir. This is combined with a solid tight five gives France a capable set piece.

Giant Stade Francais centre Mathieu Bastareaud continues at outside centre, while Francois Trinh-Duc will become Frances third standoff in their last four matches.

Les Bleus will indeed be a daunting prospect for England if he supplies quality ball to a backline that drips with class.

While some have wondered about Marc Lievremont’s visions, it is clear that his grand plan is eventuating, and will start as favourites in what could be a classic match.

It is hard to believe that such grand foes – with history stretching back to 1906 – are both ranked seventh (France) and eighth (England) in the world, the lowest ever for both sides since the IRB rankings began.

I expect a vastly improved English performance, and pick them to squeak a win over France and notch their third consecutive win over Les Bleus.

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The Crowd Says (46) | Page 1 of Comments

Knives Out said | March 12th 2009 @ 1:10am | Report comment

I agree. I would expect England to win although it should be a close match. It will be interesting to see how Parra’s kicking holds out. Trinh-Duc isn’t used as a tactical kicker at Montpellier.

France beat Wales because they were dogged and because Wales refused to kick to touch. I wouldn’t expect England to make that mistake, although I am surprised that Kennedy has been ommitted. Obviously Shaw adds bulk but Szarzewski is such an inconsistent thrower that I would have assumed that it would make sense to keep Kennedy in the 5 jersey, especially as England have only lost one of their own throws all tournament. That said, Croft is a superb lineout jumper and a superb restart forward.

The breakdown will be interesting too because Martyn Williams had a field day against the French back row, none of whom are genuine fetchers. I suspect that Worsley will tackle, tackle, tackle. No more, no less. That Johnson has been unwilling to blood a genuine 7 is slightly worrying.

Faure is a superior scrummager than Barcella and Marconnet is very, very good, therefore the scrums will be tight. Thion and Shaw add their respective weight so this match could be a real slugfest. Easter and Chabal are hardly ballerinas either.

Ultimately Johnson is making England hard to beat, and the games versus Wales and Ireland have been close, however at some point real direction will be necessary. England have been playing tight but have shown an ability to break so eventually the crowds will get restless with the safety first policy. England attempted to run too much during the Autumn, and now too little, as did France. This is a very, very big game for both coaches.

For England to win they have to do the basics, obvious as that sounds. Protect the ball, challenge the lineout, rush the rucks and listen to the ref. Both packs are workmanlike so I suspect the game will come down to the boot.

James, Clive Woodward also used to practice with 13 and 14 men. It’s a very sensible tactic, although England’s recent form means the press have conveniently forgotten that fact.

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pothale said | March 12th 2009 @ 4:46am | Report comment

I also agree that England might win this one, but only if they throw off the defensive posture they brought to the matches against Ireland and Wales. The scoreline result against Ireland is somewhat misleading. O’Gara could normally be relied on to get the kicks awarded and a scoreline of 25-13 to Ireland wouldn’t have been harsh.

However, I’d also argue that because O’Gara missed, England persisted with keeping it tight. If they had fallen behind by a greater score, it might have forced them to play a more open game, and who knows what the end result might have been. A more open game would have suited Ireland better too, and possibly opened up more scoring opportunities.

In a sense, there’s a game in England that they haven’t played yet. The match on Saturday may provide an opportunity to play it. I hope that the French get on the scoreboard early and take a 7-10 point lead. England won’t be able to afford to crawl into their defensive shell, and I’m willing to bet that when they decide to emerge, they may surprise the opposition, and themselves.

Penalties or no penalties, England haven’t played well enough this season – yet. To see the games against Ireland and Wales as losses purely due to penalties/sin-binnings is too simple, in my view, and not taking sufficient account of the opposition they faced.

The French team is beatable, but I’ll be surprised if they lose to England’s current style of play. More running please, England. You might even enjoy it, never mind your fans.

However, it is the games on the Saturday that will be of more interest to rugby fans everywhere else.

First up will be Italy vs Wales.

Gatland’s decision to make wholesale changes to his squad for the game against Italy is even more breath-taking in its arrogance than Lievremont’s decisions against Wales in the last round. Wales know that they need a 20 point margin at least from the Italy match for their final game at home against Ireland. Putting a new, but less glamorous, crew to work in the hope that they’ll play out of their skins, may fire up the Italians sufficiently to play the grind and grunt game for which they’re best suited.

Wales will need to open them up early or face a highly attritional 80 minutes. Gatland has kept 4 or 5 key players in place such as Shane Williams who hasn’t been in top scoring form this tournament. Maybe this weekend will give him an opportunity to get back in the game, before the title decided on 21 March. And give them the Points Difference they need.

The early evening game on Saturday sees Ireland head to Murrayfield as Championship leaders, and a potential Grand Slam on their horizon – though they’re being very careful not to mention the GS words. All the focus is on Scotland and nothing else.

The Scots have Hines and Hamilton back in the frame, with Hines on the bench for the match. Hines has been a thorn in recent Irish sides, although he’s also been binned twice in matches against them. Hadden may decide to bring him on to raise the flagging troops at a critical point in the game.

Kidney has introduced four new players – D’arcy at 12, Best at 2, Leamy at 8 and Stringer in at 9. He’s lucky to have such strong replacements in each of the positions. Stringer’s passing may be favoured to ensure a faster and more open running game for the backline. Darcy is a longtime partner with O’Driscoll at Leinster and with Ireland. Leamy and Best played exceptionally well for their clubs and will be looking to make a big impact to get in the frame for the Wales match.

With O’Connell and O’Driscoll leading from the front, Ireland are firm favourites and should win this match, but they need to win it comfortably with a 10-15 point margin as a minimum and at least three tries in the bag. Hopefully O’Gara gets a chance to kick a few to stabilise his kicking form. A strong winning scoreline will strengthen confidence within the squad, keep the momentum going, embolden the 4 new players in the team and present a high bar that Wales will have to overcome in the final match. Knowing that you have to win to keep the title, and win by more than 20 points, is a daunting task for any team to face.

However that’s two weeks away. Top 3 play bottom 3 this weekend. On current form, it’s only England who might cause an upset, but you never know……

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Colin N said | March 12th 2009 @ 5:04am | Report comment

I’m going for Scottish and Welsh wins, both by close scorelines. I refuse to predict the outcome of the England-France game as in the AI’s I said England would beat South Africa and Australia and we know what happened there don’t we?

I feel Ireland are fairly weak a half-back in the sense that I’m not a huge Stringer fan and he’s not even first choice for Munster. Also if O’Gara reproduces the same form against Scotland, both with ball in hand and his place kicking, Ireland may well struggle. O’Gara was very lucky against England as he threw numerous forward passes that weren’t spotted and for some reason the whole back-line looked completely dis-organised. Having said that, his tactical kicking wasn’t too bad. Sometimes it was a bit aimless, but England were doing exactly the same pointless hoofing.

Re Wales, it’s quite diffcult to predict how they will perform and how the game will go due to the amount of changes Gatland has implemented. It could be a blessing for Italy that Peel is injured as he now gives way to the Welsh first-choice, but rather ponderous scrum-half, Mike Phillips, who hasn’t been very impressive in the previous three games.

However, despite the many changes I expect Wales to win this one, but possibly not by much.

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Knives Out said | March 12th 2009 @ 5:06am | Report comment

O’Gara had penalty opportunities because England infirnged, not because their defence wasn’t strong. They can’t simply ignore their defensive basis when it has been their central point for three games. In my opinion France are massively overrated. They were utterly terrible against Scotland and they hardly beat Wales off the park. They were dogged and committed, not breathtaking and could have very easily lost the game at the end.

Ireland are looking to play it tight. Best is a good scrummager having previously been a prop and Leamy is a mauler. D’Arcy doesn’t kick so he’s there to crash it up. I’d be surprised if Ireland started throwing the ball about. Scotland have a good strong pack so I’m a bit surprised that Kidney has chosen this moment to seek a forward battle.

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Knives Out said | March 12th 2009 @ 5:10am | Report comment

Re Wales. I’m going for a Wales blow out. Yapp and Thomas are good strong running props and Bennett and Thomas will solidify the lineout. Martyn Williams will be missed though.

The backline looks solid and I fancy Wales to attempt some sexy rugby.

I agree with you about Scotland, Colin. They aren’t a bad side, and an Irish win seems a foregone conclusion in some quarters. I’ll still take an Ireland victory though. I think they have that extra quality that Scotland doesn’t.

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Colin N said | March 12th 2009 @ 5:27am | Report comment

The Welsh players that have come in are all good players, but it’s whether the amount of changes will affect the continuity. I feel it’s a great chance to see how strong the Welsh squad actually is, and if the incoming players can do a job and not succumb to the inevitable that will be on them to perform.

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Knives Out said | March 12th 2009 @ 5:38am | Report comment

That’s true but the change was necessary too. Adam Jones and Gethin Jenkins probably need a rest. Martyn Williams probably doesn’t but if he’s to be managed until 2011 then giving the Italian pack a miss is a good call. What I find puzzling is why Gatland is not playing Sowden-Taylor at 7. Daffyd Jones, although a good blindside, is certainly nothing more than a stop gap. In reality Bennett, Thomas and Henson were part of the Grand Slam spine so I think James overstates Gatland’s supposed “arrogance”.

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LeftArmSpinner said | March 12th 2009 @ 5:54am | Report comment

lets hope that the french whooooooop them!!!

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Knives Out said | March 12th 2009 @ 6:10am | Report comment

That’s ironic. I would have assumed the dour and dull play.. oh no, wait.. the brutal and committed play of England would be right up your alley. The Waratahs are after all a pale imitation of the stoic European rugby clubs..

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pothale said | March 12th 2009 @ 6:11am | Report comment

Eh it was me with the arrogance tag, KO, not James.

Loath as I am to put any kind of hex on the boys at the weekend, I think some of the assumptions about Ireland are misplaced. Have people forgotten the opening game against France and the style of play in that match? It’s still the game of the tournament so far, in my view. Italy did their usual stifling, one track game, and Ireland still put five tries past them. England came to stifle and contain. They succeeded.

Stringer has had some extremely good performances recently, some off the bench, and one recent full game for Munster.He contributed hugely to their last two wins in the Magners League. He’s faster than O’Leary with his passing, and I think his inclusion will certainly give O’Gara more time and space for tactical kicking at which he excels better than most other 10s in the 6N. His place kicking was shite against England, no other word. I don’t figure he’s going to have that bad a game again. Next to him, Darcy will be more than simply a crash ball merchant. People often forget that many of O’Driscoll’s great finishes over the years, have been due to the play of Darcy at 12 with his jinking runs, upper body strength and passing out of tackle. And he has the will and strength to get over the line himself. Look at the try he got in the French game when he came on for the injured Paddy Wallace.

Don’t know why you think Kidney is choosing this as a forward battle, KO. In my view, everything points to them making it a more expansive, open game, with Stringer and Darcy committed to ball-in hand, passing game.

Leamy is a very good back-rower, although I think he’s a better 7. He’s played 8 regularly for Munster and gets over the line at critical times.

I don’t think it’s a foregone conclusion, but Ireland should win.

And I think Wales will get a chance to cut lose, and tack up the points.

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