by Scott Ingleton
On a dark, stormy night in Murrayfield Stadium, the wind whirling overhead and the rain heaving down, perhaps one would expect the England team to be feeling how the weather looked. After a fairly dismal display in Paris last weekend, the men in white were looking to avenge their defeat with a big win. However, what came about was a controlled defensive display during a game filled with a massive 87 kicks. The English defensive line was stalwart and unmoving, not allowing the unrelenting forward phase play at their line through. The one time the English could attack the Scottish try line it was quick and brutal – charging through with Genge and young debutant Ben Earl in support, the big prop burst over the line after a single phase of the 5-metre scrum. A solid if unconvincing effort by England on a very testing night.
The first ten minutes seemed to go all England’s way. A brilliant turnover by Itoje after some intense Scottish phaseplay killed the Scottish momentum, and a well earned three points arrived on 9 minutes. However, the rest of the game was very messy and – as commentator Brian Moore observed – the winner would be the one who could be the least messy. Throughout the match, box kicks, cross kicks and grubbers were all over shot by kickers from both sides. Heinz’s box kicking in the second half especially was very hit and miss. What is worrying about this part of the game is that England seemed incapable of adapting. As multiple pundits noted, when you’re on the pitch you must be able to adjust your kicking power depending on the weather. Wind changes? Change area of aerial attack. Wind gets weaker? Add more power to your kick. Of course there is an element of human error, but these are international level players and should be able to adapt accordingly.
This makes me wonder what Jones’ gameplan was. The classic Scottish tactic is to front up up front – most of their attack comes through the forwards smashing the opposing front line with as much momentum as possible. Jones, knowing that Townsend was unlikely to change this tactic that frees up the dynamic Scottish backline, prepared his team (and his bench) accordingly. Jones had six forwards on his bench, taking a huge risk – if the game opened up and the backs were used more, there is a high chance Scotland could have run away with the scoreline as the English backs tire out and lose stamina. However, with the game contested through tightly fought, forward driven plays, Jones’ gamble definitely paid off. Through having that extra safety forward on the bench, the big men for England could hit the Scottish attack with more vigour, keeping them – at times just inches – from the England tryline. Crucially, however, the defence kept them back. Down the other end, the opposite occurred. With enough power behind him, and with the likes of Tom Curry, Maro Itoje, and fresh Ben Earl in support, Ellis Genge could only smile and he thrust over the line and pushed the ball into the turf. A simple conversion later, and England were 7 points ahead of Scotland, a crucial (and, in the end, the difference) scoreline in such a tight match.
There were other good signs for England, too; George Furbank looked far more comfortable and controlling at fullback, conceding no turnovers (in comparison to three last week) and making almost twice as many metres in the same amount of runs (19 metres in 5 compared to 31 metres in 5). He successfully completed twice as many tackles in much trickier conditions, and this will do wonders for his confidence. Tom Curry looks to be taking to his role at 8 better, making 24 metres in 10 runs (compared to 10 metres in 14 runs against France), though this my be due to the Scottish defence holding deep rather than defending with a high line, unlike France. The scrum is still very solid, with Sinckler, Genge and Vunipola conceding only one penalty between them and winning two from scrums. Ludlam, Earl and man of the match Underhill made only a tackle more between them than hooker Jamie George. The English lineout was still exceptional, wining 83% of their own ball and capitalising multiple times on lost Scottish lineouts.
However, this match was not perfect for analysing English set piece plays and back line moves. The backs were fairly anonymous – while Daly and May made some runs, most were cut short or were from deep and fairly ineffective. The conditions were not conducive to how backs like to play, and while May played well against France, generally the English backs were poor and need challenges at test time to change and improve. The next game against Ireland will be exceptionally interesting – another team that has a lot of power up front but also an electric backline in the shape of Jordan Larmour, Jacob Stockdale, and Andrew Conway, with the right conditions they can punish an untested backline. With England third in the championship and Ireland first, to be in to claim the tournament England need to win in Twickenham in two weekends time, a display like the one against France will be steamrolled and Ireland will walk away with the vengeance they so desperately want after England’s 32-12 annihilation in the Aviva last year. It will certainly be a must watch match, with the eventual victor perhaps tipping the balance to become favourites to take the crown from Wales.