THE BRUTE SQUAD
England’s best hope of upsetting the odds is to beef up and batter the Irish set piece
THE sight of Hugo Keenan and Garry Ringrose in their training gear in Abbotstown yesterday was most welcome. The Leinster pair — crucial cogs in this green-tinted machine for quite some time — have been the big injury concerns in recent times.
Both are on course to feature in Twickenham. Keenan’s return, in particular, will be timely. The visitors are braced for an aerial onslaught from a wounded England this weekend and who better to have in the backfield to bring some order to all the chaos than Keenan, who has started 32 of his country’s last 37 international games.
It tells you everything about Ireland’s depth in midfield that Ringrose may have to make do with a spot on the bench on Saturday. The form of Bundee Aki and Robbie Henshaw is far too compelling at the moment.
A big boost at the beginning of a big week. Andy Farrell, however, knows that the big challenges facing his side will be up front.
If the hosts, who are feeling the heat after a stuttering defeat in Murrayfield, stand any chance of derailing Ireland’s seemingly unstoppable Grand Slam bid, they know that it begins by cutting their much-vaunted opponents off at source.
Steve Borthwick is expected to name a big pack which will be tasked with going after Ireland at the scrum and lineout.
And the English will be heartened by some recent experiences on both fronts. What transpired in this fixture two years ago is likely to be discussed again this week.
The 2022 Six Nations meeting in London ended with a resounding win for the visitors, Farrell’s Ireland eventually sealing a 32-15 win against a 14-man England who lost lock Charlie Ewels to a red card after just 82 seconds.
Ultimately, it didn’t affect the outcome but Ireland’s scrum felt the heat for the duration. There was plenty of debate about the legality — or lack therof — when it came to the English pack’s approach, but the fact that they managed to squeeze six scrum penalties and a free-kick out of an Irish frontow featuring Tadhg Furlong, Dan Sheehan and Cian Healy will give them confidence that they can pull off a similar demolition job this time around. We would be shocked not to see the veteran frontrow of Joe Marler, Jamie George and Dan Cole rolled out on Saturday. The scrum is one rare area where England might just gain some parity.
Same goes for the lineout where some old failings reappeared for Farrell’s men during the round three win against Wales.
Again, a few misfires didn’t derail a fairly comfortable bonus point, but forwards coach Paul O’Connell will be concerned. Especially with noises across the Irish Sea that Borthwick is pondering whether to unleash Leicester’s sizeable second row George Martin on the blindside flank, to offer an additional lineout threat to bolster the considerable aerial talents of Maro Itoje and Ollie Chessum.
When you consider how much of Ireland’s best play comes from launches off set-piece, it would make sense for England to go after them there. Going back to basics would make sense as well.
Borthwick is not feeling the love from the British press at the moment.
His conservative brand of rugby is not winning many admirers. Indeed, England were still getting booed by some of their own fans at the World Cup, despite being a late Handre Pollard plenty away from making the final.
A host of ex-players haven’t been overly impressed either, with former captain Will Carling stating that this playing group is being hindered by a ‘date straitjacket’. The knives are certainly being sharpened in the wake of that damaging defeat in Edinburgh.
What would you do if you were Borthwick? Rip up the script and tell the players to go out and give it a lash or strip the entire game plan back and focus on the fundamentals. It’s highly likely to be the latter this weekend.
The fact that his players made a whopping 25 handling errors in their defeat to the Scots suggest that they are not ready to play a high-tempo, all-court game. They will be playing into Irish hands if they decide to cut loose at Twickenham. Farrell’s side will ruthlessly punish any loose play. A high-speed game will suit only one team.
England’s best bet is to take a leaf out of the Springboks blueprint and make this into a war of attrition. Breaking up Ireland’s flow, with plenty of scrums, lineouts and kicking is likely to be their approach. We aren’t expecting that England will be demanding a lot of ball. They will be happy for Ireland to do most of the attacking.
It will be all about pressure and territory. Again, it’s not going to
“The scrum is where England may gain parity”
have the Twickenham faithful on their feet. Saying that, a win against the defending champions would alleviate some pressure. Even a battling defeat would steady the ship somewhat. And England’s best bet is to turn the screw at the set piece. Do they have the forward artillery to do such a job. It’s not like the Irish pack are a lightweight unit these days either. The presence of Joe McCarthy has added considerable bulk to the tight five while the quality of personnel on the bench is another major weapon. It wasn’t long ago when England were regularly bullying Irish sides. It began with that sobering 2019 Six Nations defeat in Dublin and went on for quite some time until Farrell’s Ireland drew a line in the sand in 2021. Saracens were using the same template on Leinster for a long time as well.
But this England pack is not quite the force of old. The likes of George and Itoje are not quite the forces they were. The Vunipola brothers have faded from the Test scene. Ditto Kyle Sinckler. Tom Curry is injured and Sam Underhill is still trying to find his best form. You could say the same about Ellis Genge.
Collectively, this English unit can still pack a punch, mind you. It’s their only chance against a superior force. It’s going to be trench warfare at Twickenham.