Ref Owens got it badly wrong in dealing cards
England look a genuine threat but will their Sweet Chariot carry them home?
From England’s sweet form to Italy’s stupidity, here are eight World Cup talking points:
Chariot swinging high or low?
England still feel, with the All Blacks and South Africa, like one of the genuine challengers. They have size in the forwards and attacking abilities wide, with fullback Elliot Daly a real threat. But there were some weird moments in their 39-10 win over Argentina in Tokyo. One was when the Pumas, in the first 17 minutes when they had an eight-man pack, were able to master the English scrum. The Pumas scrum spooks nobody in the Southern Hemisphere, so coach Eddie Jones might have wondered where the fissures in his pack came from.
Farrell needs to find form
England won their only World Cup, in 2003, on the back of Jonny Wilkinson’s kicking. If they win in Japan, they’ll need similar Swiss watch precision from Owen Farrell, who was batting zero from his first four attempts against the Pumas. Farrell found his mojo as the game went on but if he has even a trace of Wilkinson’s obsessive nature, he will spend this week making a forensic examination of why he was so wayward at the start.
An impossible dream
When 14 play 15 in a rugby test, it takes a very special side to win with one man down. The Pumas were always likely to lose to England anyway, but when Tomas Lavanini’s shoulder smacked into Farrell’s head, that was the end of any chance of an upset. England play such a structured game, they were always going to set up chances for themselves on the outside, and first-five George Ford is the astute game manager Farrell isn’t, so Ford made sure the Puma defensive line was stretched so much that in the last quarter, it basically snapped.
Diamond in the coalmine
England scored six tries, some of them, like the 74th minute touchdown by wing Jack Nowell, genuinely exciting, while the Pumas scored just one, so late in the game there was no chance of a comeback. But technically it was the best try of all. Before Pumas wing Matias Moroni plunged over, there was a planned move from a lineout win, with two inside passes delivered at top speed with such pinpoint accuracy, it wasn’t so much a case of slack English defence, more proof that even in an age of rush defences and wellorganised, well-coached tackle lines, it is still possible, with enough pace and daring, to score from a set piece.
A “little bit” pregnant?
Outside of his own family, I doubt there’s a bigger fan of referee Nigel Owens than me. But when England centre Manu Tuilagi tackled Pumas fullback Emiliano Boffelli in the air just two minutes after Lavanini was red carded, Owens didn’t reach for a card. Both Boffelli’s feet were off the ground. Tuilagi wasn’t contesting for the ball. Boffelli landed heavily. The only way to make it any clearer on the replays was for cartoon balloons saying “Oof” and “Bash” and “Yellow Card” to appear on the screen. Astonishingly Owens gave only a penalty, saying Boffelli’s feet were “close to the ground”. For a referee of his talent, experience and decisiveness, it was an amazing dereliction of duty.
An impossible dream, Part 2
Japan’s remarkable progress in Pool A, which continued with their 38-19 win over Samoa, is the story of the tournament to date. It has everything. Hometown heroes, a giant (in this case Ireland) toppled and a side who play with the clear-eyed courage and intent their great name, Brave Blossoms, deserves. But like all good fairytales, there’s a potential ogre lurking, in the form of Scotland on Sunday. Having dealt with one European Goliath, would it be too much of a Disney ending for Japan to beat Scotland too?
Meanwhile in Wallaby land . . .
To say the Wallabies have been slow out of the blocks in their pool games is like suggesting a sloth takes its time to cross a road. I’d suggest the loss to Wales is the fairest measure of where this Australian team sit at the 2019 tournament. They still haven’t found the ideal halfback and first-five combination, which is a shame, because with centre Tevita Kuridrani, they have a strike weapon as potent as Beauden Barrett.
Dumb and dumber?
When your coach, in this case Italy’s Conor O’Shea, says he’s surprised just one of his players got sent off, something has gone very wrong. The twin spear tackle of South African captain Duane Vermeulen was dangerous, sickening and — at a Cup where cards have fallen like confetti — so stupid, you wonder whether Italian props Andrea Lovotti and Nicola Quaglio need someone to tie their bootlaces, because patently they’d lack the intelligence to master a knot themselves.
Phil Gifford opinion
For a referee of his talent, experience and decisiveness, it was an amazing dereliction of duty.