What is it with England coach and scrum-halves?
Eddie Jones makes No9 crucial to his tactics but position is wide open, writes Charlie Morgan
Six weeks until the start of Rugby World Cup 2019, and the mystifying merry-go-round of scrum-halves coming in and heading out of the England camp continues to spin. Willi Heinz, 32 years old and New Zealand-born, is poised for his debut on Sunday against Wales at Twickenham. He would be the fourth scrum-half to make his debut for England during Eddie Jones’s tenure as head coach.
For all of his qualities – and he is a tough, diligent “glue player” according to England scrum coach Neal Hatley – the situation is not an endorsement of either local talent or forward planning. So, why is
Jones so particular about scrumhalves and what can we expect to see in Japan?
Jones’ history with No9s
Jones relishes World Cups. Over three campaigns – with Australia in 2003, as a South Africa assistant four years later and leading Japan last time out – his record stands at 16 victories and two defeats.
A common thread has been the presence of at least one exceptional scrum-half – George Gregan with the Wallabies and Fourie du Preez in 2007 (Jones has said he hoped that Ben Youngs “could have the same influence as Du Preez had on the Springboks”).
In 2015, Japan’s rapid, ruck-andrun phase-play, which helped them punch well above their weight, would not have been half as effective without the speed and slick service of Fumiaki Tanaka and Atsushi Hiwasa. Those two underpinned Jones’s tactical He knows exactly how influential scrum-halves can be.
The England story so far
Between them, Youngs and Danny Care have started 39 of Jones’s 40 Tests in charge of England. Richard Wigglesworth wore the No9 shirt against Ireland when Joe Schmidt’s men completed their Grand Slam at Twickenham in 2018.
Over an unbeaten 2016 and an extremely successful 2017, Youngs and Care dovetailed beautifully. The latter became a flagship finisher, arriving from the bench to inject tempo with lively running and deft kicking, yet fell out of favour a year later and was axed for the 2018 trip to South Africa. Although Ben Spencer of Saracens and Wasps’ Dan Robson travelled, Jones kept Youngs on the field for all but 14 minutes of the threematch series. Spencer made two cameo appearances, Robson none. In this year’s Six Nations, Robson had leapfrogged back ahead of Spencer as Youngs’s deputy but was used sparingly until he was struck down by blood clots.
Spencer stepped back in. But despite a glittering season with Saracens in which he has shown plenty of assets – accurate boxkicking, decent service and lightning pace – Heinz’s control and vocal organisation have now earned a shot. “He allows other people to shine,” says Hatley of the Gloucester man.
Jones has warned that you will find inconsistencies when reviewing his press conference quotes, but it is interesting to review what he has said about the scrum-half landscape. He labelled Jack Maunder a “cheeky little
bugger” on calling up the Exeter player to face Argentina in 2017.
Ben Vellacott and Harry Randall have come up in media sessions, too. In January 2019, explaining that Care had been usurped, Jones added that “we have always wanted to look at Robson” as a “fast half-back who can shift the ball quickly”. Of course, he could have blooded Robson against the Pumas 18 months previously.
What will happen in Japan and beyond?
Alongside his job at Old Swinford Hospital School, former England international Shaun Perry mentors scrum-halves at Wasps and runs a business coaching promising youngsters in his old position.
Like many, he believes Robson should have accumulated more caps and is confused as to why Care has “disappeared”. Perry cites Ollie Fox, Max Green (both Bath) and Will Porter (Wasps) as age-group representatives capable of shining with Premiership exposure. But this is where it gets tough. South Africans Faf de Klerk (Sale Sharks), Cobus Reinach (Northampton) and Francois Hougaard (Worcester) are their respective clubs’ go-to scrumhalves. Tongan Tane Takulua of Newcastle will face England in Japan. A cut-throat competition is not an easy breeding ground, even if Bristol were rewarded for signing Randall from Gloucester.
Jones has used only two scrum-halves in past World Cups. He may opt to take three – and make up the extra body by picking a lock capable of slotting in at blindside flanker – because of the short turnaround between the first two pool matches. This would potentially benefit Spencer, but Jones has hinted at parachuting in wily Wigglesworth as well. Whatever the final roster, it has been a winding road to get there.