In the early months of Spring, we expect to see forests and fields come alive, with new buds bursting into vibrant colours of blue, green, and red. The Red Roses of England, however, have not blossomed – they remain dormant, locked beneath a frozen ground of ill-discipline and daft decisions.
The loss in the Principality stadium created any areas of controversy – the first and second tries, some very questionable officiating, Mako Vunipola changing boots not once but twice, and so on. An enthralling game for sure, especially when the teams began to actually play rugby. So often did referee Pascal Gauzêre stop play for an offense that the game was rarely able to flow, but when it did both teams showed exactly what they could do. In this respect, England looked dangerous – the team from the 2019 world cup had returned. But it simply wasn’t good, nor often enough; on two of the rare occasions England had a solid attack going, Elliot Daly was there to make a poor choice and throw away an excellent opportunity. Just after Liam Williams scored Wales second try, England have an opportunity. An English scrum on the nearside is well held, and Youngs ships the ball into midfield, with Watson running a good line. Watson offloads to Farrell, who pops it up to Ford running a loop. It’s standard international play, we’ve seen it plenty of times. Fords pass is lovely, yet somehow Daly knocks it forward. A promising piece of play ruined by a lapse in concentration.
One could certainly say “oh it’s a mistake, everyone makes mistakes.” And I would agree, had Daly not done almost the same thing in the 56th minute. Another good piece of England attack, and yet when Daly receives the ball he is tackled and can’t hold on. The tackle by North doesn’t even touch the ball – Daly literally releases it forward. An experienced, international quality full back cannot be making mistakes like that while chasing a game. He was at fault for Ioane’s try, he was at fault for the Van Der Merwe try against Scotland, and his role at full back has been questioned since Jones made the decision, yet it simply isn’t paying off. The things Daly brings to the table – physicality, long range kicking, speed – are far better utilised in a wing or centre role. He is not able to make the decisions required of a world class fullback like Liam Williams (who was superb), Brice Dulan or Jordie Barrett. A full back needs to be have exceptional defensive awareness, be extremely adaptable, resilient to drops in confidence or morale and able to make good decisions under pressure. Of course, he wasn’t terrible by any means. His moment of magic in the 40th minute kept the ball alive, eventually leading to 3 points for England. Furthermore, his break at the 10 minute mark opened a good break by Youngs, who then decided to run sideways and kill the chance. Nonetheless, time and again Daly has shown why he should not be at full back, and Jones constantly placing him there is something I cannot understand.
Now would be a great time to play around with the England structure – it’s the furthest point from the next world cup, and the opportunity to bleed new players who are likely to play in that tournament is ripe for the taking. Get Malins some minutes under his belt from the start, get Lawrence back on the pitch and actually get the ball to him, use Earl and Martin rather than Hill and Ewels, play Randall on the bench, because these are the players of the future, those we will be cheering on in France. Jones himself has stated that he intends to make yearly cuts to his squad of 20%, potentially leaving only 40% of the players in the current squad leaving for the tournament in 2023. The likes of Youngs, the Vunipola brothers, Lawes, May; odds are all these players will not appear on the teamsheet for the world cup. So why are they playing? Out of Jones’ loyalty to these men who took him to the 2019 final? Or perhaps to train with the new boys and bleed them into the team slowly, assimilating over time. Whatever the reason, I’m sure I don’t know, but what I do know is that England are currently losing games they should, on paper, be winning. So why not have the new boys out there? The excuse can’t be “because they’ll lose” – the senior team is losing anyway.
Furthermore, the new players have been playing rugby for less time – meaning they have been playing with these new laws revolving around the ruck and tackle techniques for greater proportions of their careers, meaning perhaps they can abide by them. There were no shortage of penalties for either side in the match, but 14 penalties conceded, some when England were in possession, is a ridiculous number. Whether the referee was correct or not is an issue for World Rugby to decide. What the players must do is adapt to how the referee is adjudicating the game. If a referee is hot on ruck infringements, don’t focus on turnover ball or make sure you’re legal to challenge for it. If the referee is quick to call offside, take that positive step to ensure you stay onside. So many penalties given were needless and a result of poor fitness or poor choices. The penalties conceded by Genge in the 68th minute, Jonny Hill in the 47th, Dan Robson in the 73rd – none of these are necessary. None of these are penalties that stop Wales scoring a try, or are close calls that could go either way – they are clear infringements and England were rightly punished by them. The ill discipline England showed not only showcased their arrogance, but also their inflexibility. Their arrogance that they could keep trying to break the rules, and their inflexibility that they couldn’t change their mindset. This attitude must change if England are going to compete against France and Ireland. They must go onto the pitch with much more humility and respect for the game and their opponents, rather than treat them with contempt.
Even if the first two tries were not awarded (which, for the record, they rightly were), based on the scoreline Wales still would of won by 2 points. Callum Sheedy was an exceptional replacement for Biggar at 50 minutes, with both himself and Kieran Hardy showing their quality and cementing their places as future first picks at half back. The Welsh forwards were dynamic, forging paths forward through the white wall from all angles, unlike England who made most of their carries through Sinckler and Billy Vunipola. Louis Rees-Zammit keeps improving, proving how much of a danger he will be on the international scene for the rest of his career. Truly the unexpected leaders at this point, and with the rest of France’s games at risk due to the coronavirus outbreak in the squad, Triple Crown winners Wales must be seen as odds on favourites for the overall championship. After Pivac’s entry as head coach, things have not been settled in the Welsh camp, with many calling for new leadership. However, this tournament has seen the resurgence of the Welsh Dragon, rediscovering that winning mindset they lost after Gatland’s departure. Loath as I am to say it, Welsh rugby is coming back. One can only hope England have the ability to come back too.