The solutions
Neutralise Bastareaud
The positive for England against France is that Les Bleus have a similarly vast pack who do not offer the same threat in the forwards as Scotland did.
The man England must beware is the technically brilliant breakdown specialist Mathieu Bastareaud (left). I am not sure how many man-of-thematch performances he has to produce before we can stop talking about his physical frame – forget his shape, instead look at the way he delivers and how he performs. We are on a rugby field, not a catwalk!
England will need to front up and take him out of the game.
Weaponise the maul
For me, this is one area that Jones missed when he talked about England’s issues. Scotland utterly disarmed England’s maul.
England and Steve Borthwick, the forwards coach, have developed a brilliant line-out, boasting a variety of catchers, options and deliveries. This means England have been able to launch driving plays, peels, attack plays and mauls, eating up yard after yard, often resulting in penalties.
Having the forwards on the front foot and the backs attacking made England hard to handle. But not in Edinburgh. England won their ball, but Scotland defended cleverly, and picked the moment to back off from the line-out (above right).
England want you to try to sack the line-out or counter drive. They are masters at riding both and then picking you off. Scotland gave them nothing to pick off. They waited and it took the momentum out of England.
There was no dynamism. The yards were not eaten up, the penalties were not won, and the backs were not running on to the ball on the front foot against a static defence.
That meant England’s relatively lightweight back line had to fight for hard yards because, when you lose that driving play, a team need someone to find the gain line. When this failed, the Ford-farrell telepathic combination became ordinary.
Be humble enough to learn
History teaches us that even the best teams lose the occasional
We won the 2003 World Cup because of the losses we suffered in the build-up
match, but it also shows that you can come back stronger and smarter. I have no hesitation in saying the reason that Martin Johnson’s team won the World Cup in 2003 was precisely because of the defeats that we suffered in the run-up.
In 1999, England lost to Wales at Wembley to a converted Scott Gibbs try.
Why? England were six points up and turned down a shot at goal with Jonny Wilkinson on the field. Lesson? Always take three points in monster games.
In 2000, England lost at Murrayfield in torrential rain.
Why? The game-plan to run Scotland off the park was nullified by the weather. England compounded error after error and were hunted down in ownership of ball in their own territory.
Lesson? You had better have at least two plans.
A year later in 2001, England lost to Ireland in October after the foot and mouth outbreak delayed the original game. It was on the back of a Lions tour and multiple players were low on fitness.
Lesson? Do not pick any player who is less than 100 per cent fit.
Then in 2002, England lost in Paris, when Serge Betsen hunted down Wilkinson’s kicking game.
Lesson? You need multiple, accurate kickers of the ball, and the ability to diffuse the pressure on any one man.
Two weeks ago, Scotland taught England a tough lesson. It would have stung.
But if England learn from it, they are likely to find that it is also one of the most valuable ones they have been given in a long time.