>> Hodgson: I’m excited by what this team can do
Wow! What a performance! I still can’t quite believe what happened at the Aviva stadium.
I don’t think I’m the only one that expected this to be a much tighter affair and, if I’m really being honest, given recent results, a small part of me thought that the result would have gone the other way.
England’s dominance was a pleasure to watch and they have certainly set the bar high for the rest of the competition.
In the build-up to any international match, certain players are singled out for stardom. Countless times Johnny Sexton is picked out and countless times he delivers.
However, seeing the frustration on his face at the end of the game said it all. He and his team had been completely outplayed, outmuscled and outthought. England did to Ireland what Ireland have done to many a team recently.
From the beginning of the match, it was very clear to see the game plans of both teams. England’s was to play in the right areas of the field, win the aerial battle and physically dominate the opposition.
In principle, this is easy, but to be disciplined to do it at international level for the whole 80 minutes takes some doing. Ireland, on the other hand, tried to chance their arm a little more and threw the ball to their Xfactor players in Garry Ringrose and Jacob Stockdale. It’s certainly hard to ignore talent like that but if there’s one rule anyone should remember in rugby, it is that you must earn the right to play there. Far too many times, Sexton threw the ball between the forwards next to him, only for the outside defenders of England to hit them back behind the gain line.
It seemed there was a slight shift to kick a little more in the second half, but I think the damage had been done. England grew in confidence as the number of dominant hits kept going up and up.
There were several things
“Not only was the line speed relentless, but the quality of the tackles was even better”
with England’s performance that struck me.
First, the variety in which they played made it difficult for Ireland to counter. Of course, England had to be physical to get over the gain line, but everyone was in sync in attack. One minute, Manu Tuilagi is carrying, the next he is passing the ball behind a lead runner to Owen Farrell and sending play in another direction.
One minute, Ben Youngs kicks a beautiful box kick from the base of the ruck, the next Henry Slade and Elliot Daly are grubbering the ball in behind the open side winger to keep the pressure on.
One of the hardest places to defend is behind the line once the defending full-back has joined and England took advantage of that space for Daly’s try.
Second, and most important, was the ferociousness of their defence. John Mitchell has come in and taken it to the next level. Not only was the line speed relentless, but the quality of the tackles was even better. Players were put to ground immediately, which then gave opportunities for the likes of Tom Curry to get over and slow it down.
Mako Vunipola yet again showed how important he is to this team. The amount of work he gets through is incredible and he was a well-deserved man of the match. It was brilliant to have his brother Billy back on the field after his rotten luck with bad injuries and, of course, when you can bring on someone with the tackling power of Courtney Lawes, the team is in a good place.
The one thing that Eddie Jones will want to look at is the discipline. Perhaps it was the youthful exuberance of Curry to be yellow carded at the beginning of the match, but England gave Ireland a couple of easy get outs throughout and their try came from a penalty in the middle of the field.
A couple of times players were penalised for not rolling away in the tackle and, granted, this is not easy to do in every situation, but Eddie will be looking for his players to focus on this next weekend.
Eddie recently spoke about this being the best team he has ever had at his disposal and the way in which they went about their business was excellent to say the least.
Last year’s Six Nations will have been disappointing for everyone involved with England, so to start the competition in such fashion shows what this team is really capable of.
I am truly excited about what they can achieve, not only in the next few weeks but looking ahead to Japan in several months.
The team won’t get carried away due to the other challenges that lie ahead but, given what has happened, they will certainly take a hell of a lot of confidence.
There is always a sense of expectation from England fans but the result at the Aviva will have shocked everyone and the pressure is now on to back that up next week. I will certainly have my fingers crossed that they will!