England’s pursuit of All Blacks slowing down

OPINION: England keep winning but the rate at which they impress has slowed down.

To English eyes they displayed grit and an excellent kicking game to beat Wales 12-6 at Twickenham at the weekend.

But they seek to be judged against the All Blacks so under those terms the verdict is less flattering. They failed to score a point for the last hour against a Welsh team without half a dozen British and Irish Lions.

An unhelpful penalty count hurt them there but Eddie Jones has now entered a trickier phase. He turned them around quickly but latterly improvements are getting harder to come by.

Funnily, it was a New Zealander who caused England problems at the weekend.

When Gareth Anscombe moved to first five-eighth from fullback around the 50-minute mark he was excellent and almost tipped the game on its head.

But the former Blues and Chiefs man has been doubly unlucky. Not only was he denied a legitimate try in the first half but the furore surrounding that decision has taken the focus away from his outstanding last quarter.

It is, of course, unscientific to say that because Anscombe troubled England then a whole team of New Zealanders would do the same, particularly as Anscombe has been in Wales for a number of years.

Yet it is impossible not to think what would have happened if some of Anscombe’s Welsh colleagues had shared his instincts.

We think here of Welsh centre Scott Williams, whose attempt to slide over from distance on a wet surface and ignore two men inside him cost Wales a try at a crucial time.

Anscombe played a role in creating that chance and was the game’s dominant individual when he shifted into the front-line for the struggling Rhys Patchell.

He made four half or clean breaks and turned England centre Jonathan Joseph from a defensive asset into a liability.

As Joseph rushed out of the line in search of a trademark intercept Anscombe instantly chipped over the top of him into space.

Had Wales No 8 Ross Moriarty been given a kinder bounce, or had Kieran Read’s hands, the Welsh would have been well in behind them.

Nor was England’s scrum good enough to close the game with sheer power. In fact, it was the Welsh set-piece that won a crucial penalty from deep in their own half in the second half.

England, ever so slightly, were rocking. No 9 Danny Care threw a wild pass to no-one and Twickenham lost its voice. They were better in beating Wales in Cardiff last year.

In a way, a slowdown is what you would expect. Jones is a shrewd coach but most of the lower-hanging fruit has now been picked.

When he replaced Stuart Lancaster Jones did not rip up the squad because the foundations were there.

But he made two key selections - Owen Farrell at No 12 and Dylan Hartley as captain - that alone had a profound effect on England’s performance. Hartley has his critics but when he was replaced against Wales it was the beginning of England’s rocky spell. It is no coincidence.

What we see may now from England is a more realistic rate of improvement, where gains come in increments.

They can still take steps forward when halfback Ben Youngs and No 8 Billy Vunipola return but if the All Blacks are able to work with the cues Anscombe gave them their running game can keep them ahead of the pursuers.

The great chase is still on but the All Blacks must have been quietly content with what they have just witnessed.