GIVE US THE ALL BLACK MAGIC
England must hit Irish with same intensity of World Cup semi-final
ENGLAND believe they are ready to reach the same performance heights tomorrow against Ireland as they did in Yokohama last November when they dismantled the All Blacks.
England have had a turbulent start to this Six Nations, with defeat in Paris and an ugly, wet-and-wild win over Scotland coming against a backdrop of off-field unrest. Head coach Eddie Jones has found himself in the eye of various storms, but he is convinced England are not being blown off course.
There was an inevitable comedown after their near-miss World Cup campaign in Japan, which culminated in a heavy defeat by South Africa in the final. But what they achieved in the semi-final a week earlier provides a benchmark for future ambitions.
It was a seismic result: England 19 New Zealand 7. But what caused most delight among those involved was how they managed it. The buzz-word was ‘intensity’. The English onslaught was relentless and the mighty All Blacks had no answer to it. Yesterday, the same buzzword was doing the rounds after Jones named his side for Twickenham tomorrow.
Put aside debates about the line-up and there was a sense of surging confidence.
Jones admitted that his players had been ‘ edgy’ earlier in the week, but by Thursday they were showing encouraging signs of rediscovering the collective attitude, purpose and clarity which characterised their best displays in Japan.
Asked what he had seen in training to generate such optimism, Jones said: ‘Just the intensity. It was by far the most intense session we’ve done. We’re getting back to our World Cup level, or even above the World Cup level, whereas at the start of the Six Nations we were 20 per cent below that. We feel like we’re coming close to our best now.’
Elliot Daly echoed that sentiment. ‘It’s obviously hard coming back off a World Cup, but how you perform in the Six Nations leaves a legacy for the year,’ he said.
‘We’re disappointed with the France game, but the prep for the last two weeks has been really good, up to where we were during the World Cup. Hopefully we can bring that into the game.’ Asked if he believes England can match the quality of their epic exploits against New Zealand, Daly said: ‘Yeah, definitely — 100 per cent. I think we can definitely get to those places. It’s about knowing how to get to those places.
‘Against New Zealand, we knew we had that game in us, that physicality and the way we tried to control the game. But that’s what you want to do in every Test match. If we can get back up to point, it would be amazing.’
George Ford also spoke about intensity and the fly-half claimed that it was returning to the heights last seen at the ‘back end of the World Cup’. He argued that, after a spell at their clubs following the tournament in Japan, it was inevitable that England would need time to relocate top gear.
‘We’re going to have to be somewhere near our best this weekend,’ said Ford. Correct.
Under Andy Farrell, Ireland have won their first two games in this tournament, at home against Scotland and Wales. They will be driven to make amends for a dire World Cup campaign and for heavy defeats in their last two encounters with the English.
One priority for Ireland will be trying to stop the recalled Manu Tuilagi before he can grievously damage their title prospects.
Last year in Dublin, the Leicester centre’s early charge from a long lineout throw set the tone for his team’s dominance in all facets, in what became their most complete championship display of the Jones era.
Ford spoke for the whole England squad in welcoming the return from injury of Tuilagi: ‘It’s great to have Manu back. He’s looking fit, he’s looking fresh and he’s got a smile on his face, which means we know he is ready.
‘He’s a great weapon for us and we need to make sure we use him in the right way. He’s got a unique point of difference which can get us on the front foot more often than not. Our job is to get the platform to make sure we get the best out of him.’
In truth, England might find that they are quite reliant on Tuilagi for ‘go forward’, due to the absence of the Vunipola brothers — Mako and Billy — although Kyle Sinckler and Maro Itoje, among others, can offer the hosts ballcarrying clout, too.
Then there is Ellis Genge, the rampaging Leicester prop who will be primed to explode from the bench, just as he did to help win the match at Murrayfield. As usual, Ireland will pose a threat with their aerial prowess, both contesting kicks and at the lineout. The visitors have vast pedigree and experience in key positions, from props Cian Healy and Tadhg Furlong to the half-back alliance of Conor Murray and captain Johnny Sexton. They are an Andy Farrell team, so they will be tenacious and combative. England’s campaign will be balanced on a knife-edge tomorrow. Defeat is far from unthinkable. But they don’t see it that way. They see another peak and are adamant that they can reach it.