Each year, no matter where it’s played, England facing Wales always becomes a brilliant, tightly fought contest. For eighty minutes each year, all that emotion and history is thrust into a battle where everything is left on the pitch. The clash this year was no different. A brutal, physical game which went down to the very last moment, full of drama, controversy and aggression, it exemplified everything that gives England versus Wales so much meaning. Right from the anthems you could see how much just being there and representing their country meant to each man out there.
There was quite a difference in play styles between the sides. As Wayne Pivac has only recently come into the job of Wales coach, he accepted the offered role in 2018, and one would hope he had ideas for how he wants his Wales side to play. Considering his history with the Fijian Rugby Union (and his success with their 2005 Sevens world title) and – more recently – with Scarlets, it is somewhat unsurprising that his focus is on attack. Wales have always had a solid defence, with brilliant defensive back like Leigh Halfpenny and Liam Williams in the side, it’s almost counter to what is happening to France now; Wales already have a great defence, thinks Pivac, so let’s focus on attacking. Famously, “Gatlandball” was never the free flowing try fest many fans wanted to see, but it is impossible to argue Gatland was not successful. Hence, perhaps, why Pivac has made this switch. It is clear in the stats, too; both teams were in possession of the ball for around 20 minutes of gametime, yet England made almost twice the amount of successful tackles than Wales (223 to 116). Furthermore, Wales made almost twice the amount of passes than England (236 to 119). These stats show the difference in gameplan; whereas England kick for territory (17% of their possession went to the boot) and try not to get stuck into phase play, Wales are more content retaining possession (much like Gatlandball) but with the added flair of Pivac, I.e. offloading and passing. While this can be a riskier strategy, as balls often get overthrown or knocked on, when it works it is truly a sight to behold. You can pick almost any Welsh break in that game and notice two or three players in support, waiting for the offload – this is something extremely common with the Fijian 15’s side. Just look at their first try just after the restart; Tompkins receives on the left side, England going for the backs as if they can catch the receiver quickly it’s easier to drag them into touch and gain an instant advantage early. This is shown by Daly, one of the fastest players in this England side, charging after Tompkins with Kruis, one of the largest, in support. Daly tackles and holds, Kruis drags to touch. However, Tompkins artfully dodges Daly and passes to Josh Navidi on the wing, timing the pass perfectly to cut Kruis out of the ensuing footrace. Navidi soon passes back to Tompkins who never let up on his run, who offloads perfectly to Tomos Williams on his inside, who races towards the line. Seeing George Ford ahead of him, he offloads inside again to Justin Tipuric, who has the momentum to get over the line. A wonderfully worked try that has “training ground” written all over it. It’s a brilliant counter move to the classic kick off tactic England were trying to employ, and they failed to react accordingly.
England’s first try, scored by Anthony Watson, shows what Watson brings to the side. His dancing feet and exceptional speed from static makes him a force to be reckoned with on the wing, not ignoring the fact he retained a 100% tackle success rate (6/6). It was almost a classic England try off a lineout maul, with the added Watson flair. Rather than driving the maul (as Wales would expect), Curry takes the ball from the back and quickly passes to Youngs. Youngs moves forward, notices Watson charging down his outside, changes direction of play, passes beautifully to Watson, he dances through a tackle and manages to stretch over the line. However, it’s the second try that I’d like to focus on, as it is a prime example of how the Ford-Farrell axis can work perfectly. There’s another lineout in almost exactly the same place, yet this time England set and drive. Youngs tries to snipe, but is tackled and manages to get the offload to Jamie George. George drives low, gains a few metres, as does Marler. This is where Youngs unleashes the axis. Youngs passes to Farrell, who knows he has only a second to make a choice between passing to Slade charging down just outside or Ford much further back. This run by Slade is key – it distracts George North long enough to Stop North from reaching Ford before Ford can unleash Daly on the wing. Furthermore, Ford’s run is perfect. The angle is enough to keep the attention of both Halfpenny and North, as Halfpenny can’t tell if North will get there in time so he has to cover. This frees up Daly on the wing to dive over the line. A lovely, very well worked try that shows the benefit of having the extra playmaker at centre.
There were a lot of talking points in the match, but perhaps the greatest one is the incident between Welsh captain Alun Wyn Jones and English prop Joe Marler. There was a bit of a scrap around the 7 minute mark and Marler was filmed grabbing at Jones’ genitals. This kind of thing has been happening in rugby for decades, and I’ve seen many arguments saying “it was just banter/funny” and “this is disgraceful and has no place in professional sport”. The only real argument is that World Rugby law 9.27 states “A player must not do anything that is against the spirit of good sportsmanship including but not limited to grabbing, twisting or squeezing the genitals”. The minimum penalty for the offence is a 12 week ban. The rugby world should be looking to World Rugby to impose these sanctions and stand by their legislation. Personal opinion about the incident is fairly irrelevant – these are the laws, they must be abided by if you’re going to play the game. It’s that simple.
Looking forward, unless Scotland or Ireland perform a miracle against an ever-improving France side, it looks like France will walk away this year as Six Nations Grandslam Champions. However, were said miracle to happen, final day will become an incredibly tense affair. Especially with the Coronavirus currently causing chaos with the Italian matches, who really knows how the years’ tournament will end?