ALL YOURS, EDDIE
Wales victory tees up title for England
ENGLAND can retain their RBS 6 Nations crown by beating Scotland at Twickenham this afternoon after Wales crushed Ireland 22-9 last night.
Coach Eddie Jones’s main concern is over the fitness of Owen Farrell and he will only decide whether to field his playmaker an hour before the 4pm kick-off.
In Cardiff, two George North tries helped Wales beat Ireland to give Jones the perfect prematch boost as England target an 18th straight victory which would equal the All Blacks’ world record.
Farrell, 25, will have more treatment this morning after sitting out training with a ‘slight dead leg’. Defence coach Paul Gustard told Sportsmail: ‘We have until before kick- off to make a decision.’
Victory for England will keep them on course for a second successive Grand Slam, a feat never achieved by any side in the Six Nations era.
Scotland have not beaten England at HQ since 1983 but after wins over Ireland and Wales believe they can spring a shock.
TWICKENHAM will stage an historic feat today, come what may. Either England will extend their winning run to world-record level or Scotland will stun the locals to end 34 years of hell at HQ. Something has to give.
As if those major landmarks were not enough, there is more at stake. This RBS 6 Nations campaign lies in the balance. This latest instalment of the Calcutta Cup may just tip it in favour of those with the rose or the thistle.
For too long, fixtures between these countries have been bitter, hostile, tribal conflicts, lacking in quality to go with all the animosity. Not this time. This afternoon, the world’s secondbest team will face visitors who are now up to No 5 in the global charts. A pedigree Test awaits.
The bizarre backdrop to this encounter has been the contrast between Scotland’s confident, bullish attitude on the back of two wins in this championship and England’s defensive, tetchy mood despite being three from three.
All the smoke signals from the opposing camps in recent days would suggest that the force is with Vern Cotter’s men, but instead it is the English who have been unstoppable, for more than a year.
There has been a backlash of sorts against the national team due to the unconvincing nature of their recent successes. Let’s be clear; the thunderous roll they are on has been a wonder to behold. Quibbling over the finer details does them a disservice.
When Eddie Jones took charge, England were eighth in the rankings and in danger of being haunted by their World Cup calamity. Instead, they have swept aside all-comers to stand on the brink of equalling the All Blacks’ record of 18 consecutive victories. Any belittling of these exploits amounts to a ludicrous slur which ignores the context — while only the Kiwi masters could even begin to conceive of a 3-0 series triumph in Australia, for instance.
So enough of the revisionist faint praise. However, England’s ambition to become the No 1 team in the world is on hold today, as they must focus on reasserting their pre- eminence in Europe. Make no mistake, the hosts are under pressure, as the Scots have not tired of pointing out.
In last year’s Six Nations, England were dominant. This time, not so much. While the goal is to deliver an 80-minute performance, they have barely been accomplished for that long in the course of three matches so far. Tellingly, by this stage of the 2016 championship, England had been in front for 169 of the 240 minutes played. In this tournament, they have led for only 90 minutes in total.
Jones is well aware that — for all the talk of supreme ‘finishers’ on the bench — his side cannot keep acting as escape artists. After the dramatic comeback against Wales in Cardiff, the Australian joked that England had used all of their ‘get- out- of-jail cards’. But they had to hastily find another one against Italy 13 days ago — when they were only two points ahead with 10 minutes to go.
There has been a frank admission from players and coaches that slow starts are a recurring problem to be eradicated but, in fact, England started very well in the Welsh capital. The first quarter saw the playmaker double act of George Ford and Owen Farrell ignite the attack based on astute use of heavy ball-carriers. More of the same today would surely give the home side early impetus.
The Twickenham crowd will not see a repeat of the unorthodox Italian tactics which generated such English indignation. Scotland will certainly contest the breakdown; tenaciously and with technical prowess. Hamish Watson and captain John Barclay pose a significant threat in that area, but the visitors come armed with considerable firepower around the field.
Cotter can unleash the Gray brothers to lead the carrying onslaught, knowing that front-foot ball can create a platform for Finn Russell’s instinctive attacking efforts at No 10.
The fast and predatory back three of Tim Visser, Sean Maitland and Stuart Hogg will be ready to pounce on openings. Scotland will be under the cosh in the scrum, but they may bring innovation to the line-out, as shown when centre Alex Dunbar took a throw undetected to score against Ireland.
England simply have not played with as much conviction and fluency yet as today’s opponents, but their trump cards are pack power and sheer depth. The fact that the Vunipola brothers are lurking on the home bench, along with other men in prime form, will focus minds — and not just Scottish ones. Nathan Hughes needs a big game at No 8, as does captain Dylan Hartley and Jonathan Joseph in midfield.
Last year, England deserved their Grand Slam, but some European rivals have raised their game, so the time has come for Jones’s team to do likewise. There has been endless talk about the quality in training; now that must be seen on the Twickenham turf. If the hosts click, they will win well. If they don’t, they could still win, but it might not send them to Dublin next weekend in buoyant spirits.
Today, England must prove that standing on the brink of another major feat galvanises them, rather than induces caution.
They are cranky and fired up and a hunch is that they will play better, win by 10 points and demonstrate that, in 2017, they can be more than mere escapologists.