SIR CLIVE WOODWARD’S VERDICT
Embattled Welsh up for bruising opening clash
PerhAPS there weren’ t many moments from Sapporo for the highlights reel but that was a rock solid opening win over Tonga and this england team have so much power to add.
Deep down they will be pretty pleased with such a drama-free win. They didn’t have to dig too deep and use up too much nervous energy.
One of the few times eddie got animated was when elliott Daly over-ran henry Slade’s pass for what would have been a very good try in the second half.
Many england supporters will have hoped for a 40 or 50 point demolition with passages of irresistible, free-flowing rugby but it rarely works out like that at modern World Cups.
especially so in opening matches when the ‘minnows’ are fresh and totally revved up for battle. You can get too picky and over-analytical after such games.
i remember eight years ago when New Zealand’s Gun XV opened the tournament against Tonga at eden Park, their fortress ground, and won a very similar match 41-10 after pre-match predictions of a cricket score.
Tonga refused to go quietly and played with great spirit, despite the New Zealand crowd wanting the All Blacks to open up. Yesterday was much the same.
At the debrief today — and with only a three-day turnaround before the USA it will have to be very brief — england can reflect on a bonus point win, no obvious injuries and a set piece that went well. That’s a lot of boxes ticked.
They will also be delighted not to have conceded a try at the death when Tonga built up a head of steam. Not allowing the opposition to score tries is a very good habit to get into.
it was also good to see Manu Tuilagi looking so strong and fit. it’s been a long haul back after his horrible run of injuries and it was great to see him enjoying his rugby. he will know that the hard work is about to start.
Once england have played USA they will be facing top quality teams — and defences — all the way if they are to progress in this tournament and those sort of sides are not generally fazed by big, physical ball carriers in midfield.
england must not forget to also use Manu as a decoy and he must deploy some of his off- loading skills, drawing two or three tacklers in with his threat before releasing the support players around him. The negatives from yesterday were the 13 handling errors — unusually high for england — and occasionally not getting the ball wide quickly enough to test the fitness and scramble the defence of a Tongan team who were brave. They organised their defending around the fringes and at the set piece.
The World Cup moves on very quickly, already this game is almost receding into the memory and england’s focus is now firmly on the USA eagles, another physical, big hitting T2 nation who will be fresh and excited as they get their World Cup underway.
Despite facing a quick turnaround i would start with most of england’s Gun XV again, look to win the game as quickly as possible and then get them off to give more game time to reserves. Perhaps some players who weren’t involved at all yesterday could come on to the bench.
My thinking on this is that england then have eight days of rest before their next game, against Argentina, which is plenty of time for all the key men to recover and build again. That starting XV would benefit from one more 40-50 minute spell together before the Pumas clash.
SHAUN EDWARDS was talking about a potential typhoon ripping through Toyota today — but he could have been discussing the week that was for Wales.
‘If a storm comes, there is nothing we can do about that,’ said the defence coach on the eve of Wales’ opening World Cup match against Georgia.
Thankfully Typhoon Tapah is dying down and not likely to whip Wales into as much of a frenzy as the saga of Rob Howley — the attack coach sent home for an alleged break of betting regulation — from which they have tried to move on.
There is a roof on the Toyota City Stadium, which folds over and looks like an armadillo’s back, but it will not close to protect Wales from the elements as crippling maintenance costs have meant it has not been shut for four years.
Never mind, historically Wales are good in a storm, whether metaphorical or meteorological.
Look at the week before they played Scotland in the Six Nations, when two Welsh regions almost merged just days before the Test, or the Ireland game in which Wales sealed the Grand Slam in a downpour. ‘ We’re confident about the way we can play in the wet, we are a good wetweather team,’ noted Edwards. ‘If it is wet and slippery, which it could be, we have to adapt out tactics and tighten things up.’
Boxed into the corner by the week’s events, Wales are likely to slug their way out against Georgia. But Edwards — a keen fan of the fight game — is wary today’s rivals possess a mighty hook that could unexpectedly fell them. ‘You can’t look too far ahead. Heavyweight boxing has proved that over the last few months,’ he said before being asked if Wales could fall into the trap Anthony Joshua did against unfancied underdog Andy Ruiz Jnr in June. ‘Tyson Fury the other night, too,’ said Edwards. ‘He had a bad cut and could have lost that fight. There’s no complacency in our team. Rugby is very emotive and you have to encourage that emotion, but we have to control that and use it in the right way.
‘We’ve been preparing for this for a very long time — two years in the making — and we’re fully focused against a formidable opponent and one that we have a lot of respect for.
‘They’re big men, they’re going to be physical but so are we.’
Coach Warren Gatland has assembled the oldest starting XV Wales have ever fielded in a World Cup match with an average age of 28 years and 331 days, so there is no lack of experience.
Wales should beat Georgia convincingly.