FLUENT, DARING, RELENTLESS ...ENGLAND ARE REBORN
Even in defeat, Borthwick’s men forge a new identity with attacking masterclass
ENGLANd lost Le Crunch again but took another step towards finding a new identity on Saturday night. They were beaten but look positively reborn.
There were moments, especially during a dazzling, three-try surge either side of half-time, when Steve Borthwick’s national team played as if the debacle against Scotland had been an elaborate hoax. It was rugby from a different planet, compared to that miserable occasion in Edinburgh. Fast. Fluent. daring. Connected. Relentless.
Even after Thomas Ramos’s late penalty inflicted a deja vu defeat which uncomfortably transported Jamie George and Co back to their World Cup semi-final agony at the hands of South Africa, England fans were buoyed by what they had seen. They were overwhelmingly enthused by what the future holds — and it’s been a while since that was the case.
This was how to engage the public. Give them something to fall in love with. Not just effort and aggression — which should be a basic expectation at this level — but artistic flourishes, too. There was plenty of pragmatism, especially in the first half when the emphasis was overwhelmingly on territorial kicking, but when the attacking switch was flicked, the results were a joy to behold.
How often in recent memory have an England team made those watching them gasp in awe at their audacity and skilful execution? Perhaps a handful of times. Well, they had done that during their win against Ireland and they did it again in pushing France to the precipice; transforming a 16-3 deficit into a 24-16 lead in stunning fashion.
With Ben Earl rampaging around in trademark fashion to cap his outstanding campaign in style, England’s attack ignited. They played flat, at a high tempo, and France’s defence could not contain them. Twice Ollie Lawrence blasted through to score, then Marcus Smith danced over. Later, Tommy Freeman struck as reward for a classy display.
Wielding the conductor’s baton with supreme authority was George Ford. yes, the same Ford who was heavily criticised after the Murrayfield meltdown, when he stood too deep and his passing and kicking were ragged. The Sale fly-half turned 31 on Saturday and what a way to celebrate, with one of the best performances of his long career, which has yielded 96 Test caps and counting.
Ford was majestic. He operated in range of defenders and took the hits as he sent teammates bursting into space, but still had the energy to cover the back-field. His influence was felt as a playmaker and a leader. His detractors have run for the hills. Afterwards, he spoke passionately about how England had recognised, following the defeat by Scotland, that something had to change. They were too stifled, too cagey. There was not enough freedom of expression and positive intent, and the players resolved among themselves to change that. First and foremost, Ford acknowledged the frustration that Borthwick’s side had not managed to close out a victory which they had done so well to set up. But then he addressed the tactical overhaul — aided by a greater focus on attack in training — and said: ‘Our mindset, since Scotland, has been to really go at teams with ball in hand. We’ve wanted to be a threat, ask questions, fire
shots, be that attacking team, be on the front foot a lot more.
‘You’ve seen that the last two weeks. The one thing we can take from the game is that mind-set and the threat we can be — flatter to the line, running into spaces, creating one- on- ones, getting quick ball at the ruck and being at the opposition.
‘Everyone talks about being at them defensively, but we can go after them in attack as well. The penny’s dropped in terms of what type of team we want to be. And how dangerous we can be.’
So, did they need to go through that ordeal at Murrayfield for the penny to drop? ‘You never want that, but yeah, we had to make a choice. off the back of that game, we had to have honest conversations about things and decide what team we want to be.’
Ford also admitted he had to assess his own game and how he had lost touch with some of his trademark qualities. He’s made a concerted attempt to regain them and the upshot was a masterclass - in Lyon..
‘I had a look at myself and howw I could influencee that (attack) more,’ he said.
‘I feel like a different player on the field. Reflecting back, sometimes you can fall into a trap when you have the responsibility of making decisions, managing the game and putting the team in the right areas, I went too far down that end of the spectrum. I realised I needed to come back the other way.
‘I need to be like that to be the player I want to be in the team. We all play rugby because we want to have a crack, fire shots, score points, score tries. Trust me, it’s far more enjoyable to play in, never mind just for the fans.’
So where does this leave England, after a campaign of three wins and two defeats, and a thirdplace finish. They started slowly in edging past Italy and Wales, fell offo a cliff in Edinburgh,b soared to a toweringt peak to shocksho the Irish and then so nearly backed it up hehere. Frankly, France were fortunate to escape to victory, despite the electric exploits of Damian Penaud and Nolann Le Garrec, behind a monstrous pack. The try finished by Gael Fickou came from a freakish sequence of events: over-thrown line- out by Theo Dan, sliced kick ahead by Ramos and an untimely slip by Elliot Daly. And the decisive penalty on halfway was contentious, leaving England aggrieved by referee Angus Gardner’s belief that a tackle by Earl was illegal. It was a borderline call.
Borthwick is off to New Zealand soon to check out training facilities ahead of a summer tour which will see the national team play two Tests there after a clash with Eddie Jones’s Japan in Tokyo. The head coach will go through a forensic Six Nations debrief, with much of the fresh material now quite encouraging.
Ford has re-asserted his authority at 10 and Alex Mitchell is locked-in at scrum-half. Lawrence should be a midfield fixture now, George Furbank has emerged as the adventurous option at full back, despite his early injury setback on Saturday, Freeman was another stand- out Saint and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso is a glittering new asset. Up front, George Martin can become a stalwart, ollie Chessum at blindside was a triumph and Ellis Genge regained his mojo in the front row.
There were lapses against France which can be addressed, and England will earn more tolerance by truly trying to cut loose now, having initially just paid lipservice to doing that. As it stands, they do not have the game to upset the All Blacks in July, but if there is more of the sort of progress from the last fortnight, the possibilities are endless.