England teach
Once in a blue moon, when the sun drips blood and the stars dance a slow waltz, something wildly weird happens in the world of men.
There comes a time when the words of the Greek philosophers turn into an incoherent mumble and the All Blacks can be enlightened by the England rugby team.
Yes, it’s an absurd notion, but in overwhelming Ireland at the weekend, England were excellent in a number of areas where New Zealand have struggled in the past couple of years. The men in black should look and learn – I don’t expect anyone to say that again for another 1000 years, but these are strange times.
England’s tactical kicking was magnificent. The brilliance of their passing, and whoever thought we would say that about the manual labourers of old Albion, created tries. And England dominated Ireland physically without turning into a bunch of savage headhunters. Yes, Kyle Sinckler did hit Garry Ringrose high in the second half, but it was an exception.
Owen Farrell set the standard with the very first kick of the match. It was high and ruthlessly accurate, pinning Ireland to the touchline deep in their 22. That kick-off limited the distance of Ireland’s exit from their 22 and from the ensuing front-foot lineout England went through multiple phases to score.
Apart from one hooked kick that went directly into touch, Farrell was excellent. He has taken over now from Dylan Hartley as England’s leader and the team are in behind him. Yes, there are disadvantages. He is too far away to influence referees in the way that a forward can. But Farrell is clearly what the Vunipola brothers call ‘the general’ of the team.
On a number of occasions Farrell exposed Robbie Henshaw when Ireland’s fullback drifted too far to cover the touchline. Ireland often push up their wings and that leaves the fullback with a lot of work to do.
Farrell is perhaps the best in the game at carrying a picture of the backfield in his head and exploiting it with his kicking. On several occasions he kicked long and straight and made a fool out of Henshaw who was covering close to the touchline. It is a match that Beauden Barrett would learn much by reviewing, because New Zealand’s tactical kicking over the past two years has not been good.
England’s excellence ran through the team. Ben Youngs’ box-kicking was spot on and he combined with Farrell to shatter Keith Earls on the Irish right, a player of talent who has always been physically and mentally vulnerable.
England manipulated Ireland’s back three to set up the kicking game. Their second try came when both Farrell and Elliot Daly looped round to take