Kids who inspired Farrell’s ‘Link’ to lead out teams today
Eddie Jones’ side went wrong in four ways with the boot against Wales but it is still a good tactic
In Wales the home defence was tougher, frontfoot ball went, the score was tight and kicks became that bit harder
Too long too often
At key moments against Wales, especially later in the game, England kicked too long and gave Liam Williams the chance to take control. Also, earlier, when England kicked to compete and did pretty well with Jonny May and Jack Nowell getting up nicely, Wales usually won the second touches.
In football, the view is simple – when you play a long-ball game you need someone to live off the bits and pieces and flicks. Too often in the first half Wales beat England to the second touch. Nowell would rise and tap back, but Josh Navidi was there and waiting. May won one with a magnificent jump, only for Rob Evans to be waiting.
It was brilliant tactical positional play by Wales, and far from accidental. They decided to fill the space between the England leaper and the next England support runner, and control the space on the English side to negate the aerial threat.
Kicking from slow ball
When England kicked to score in rounds one and two, they kicked on the move, while still threatening with the ball in hand. This meant they had options outside the ball handler or kicker who were looking to run and take on defenders. As a result, the defenders were up flatter and gave more space in behind, so it was much easier to kick to a big target.
When England kicked in Cardiff, too often the Welsh were ready and set and could drop players back and make the landing target so small that England players were likely to push it in their bid to be inch-perfect.
That is when problems occur. You tighten up and the ball flies straight out, as it did for Owen Farrell early in the second half. Worse still is when you are kicking off slow ball and you become a charge-down target. It is too obvious and the pressure on the kicker can ramp up. Gareth Davies charging down Farrell was a perfect example. Farrell was a sitting duck.
Too eager to kick
The balance of decision-making was slightly off and, as a result, England missed opportunities. Just after the score turned to 10-3 in England’s favour, Tom Curry won a great turnover on Hadleigh Parkes.
There was 28.49 on the clock. The ball moved left and Farrell kicked. If he had passed, he had Henry Slade and May in the wide channel, with Josh Adams stuck deep in no-man’s-land.
Big matches are won on fine margins and the ability to take opportunities. At 10-3 another try would have put Wales into a very deep hole. I may be old school but just before half-time, England should have taken a dropped goal in front of the posts to stretch the scoreline to 13-3. Never look a gift horse in the mouth.
Failure to learn
In the 75th minute, England were under pressure and Elliot Daly called for the mark. He took his time and missed touch – just as Jonathan Davies did two years ago, a mistake which led to Daly’s match-winning try.
On this occasion Liam Williams had time to catch, launch another sky-high kick and win another chase. The ball was shifted wide, a scrum was given, there was a cross-kick from Dan Biggar to Adams and he scored the try. Sensational. Game, set, match.
Why they want to keep on kicking
England were not awful in the kicking department. May took a brilliant high ball, recycled and Manu Tuilagi was away with an outside break and another chance was created. Farrell also pinned Wales back well on two or three occasions but England failed to take advantage because a daft penalty was conceded or an opportunity to get the scoreboard ticking was turned down.
The trouble was that England’s kicking was so good in the first two rounds that it only had to go slightly wrong for everyone to realise just how much impact it had.
By my calculations, England have scored six tries directly from kicks, and another two indirectly. This is an unbelievable return on investments. The quality of kicks, variety and control in rounds one and two made all the difference.
In the first two rounds of the Six Nations, England found their carrying mojo – this means they were winning contacts. The net result was superb quality of ball, speed of presentation and accuracy of delivery to Ben Youngs. He was able to distribute from his armchair to kickers like Farrell, who could survey all in front of him. When the ball was delivered to him the defence were on the back foot and not applying pressure to his kick. With all that, even I might have fancied my chances at hitting the right landing zones.
In Wales, the home defence was tougher, the front-foot ball disappeared, the scoreboard was tight, and the kicks became that much harder.
The other key factor was the quality of the chase. How many times have you heard a “kick is only as good as its chase”. That is true. If there is no all-consuming press, no long white line for England, the counter-attack is easy.
For the long kick, if the solo chaser is a poor defender, he is picked off easily and the control is back in the hands of the attacking team with options available. However, if the one-man chase is determined, focused and refuses to give up on their plan to ground an opponent, then life is brutal for the side receiving the kick.
England have been showing this dog in their chase and it has meant that their competition in the air, their kick chase and their press has been strong in all facets. May has become a real asset in all three.
England now have a lot of options when it comes to kicking, but this can also be a problem. A good kicking game is not just down to the skills that are needed to put boot to ball. Fail to execute the other building blocks that are required, in the almost perfect manner that the Six Nations now demands, and it can mean you very quickly get a kick in the teeth.