>> Hodgson: Bad kicks cost chance of victory
Ican’t help feel a little deflated after that performance. Obviously because I am an England fan and I want them to win, but mainly because I am a little frustrated with the manner in which they lost.
Let’s not take anything away from Wales. Even though they were getting knocked backwards time after time in the first half, they stuck to their game plan with real patience, they grew as the game went on, and the way in which the back three dealt with England’s kicking game is testament to the way they must have prepared during training last week.
Liam Williams rightly won the man of the match for his ability to deal with the kicking threat of England, but he was only a third of a very brave triumvirate that made every aerial challenge look easy. George North is one of the most consistent performers for Wales and Josh Adams proved his worth once again by superbly finishing the crossfield kick from Dan Biggar to seal the victory.
As for England, I just feel that something was left out on the field. Not with regards to effort because the stats speak for themselves. The intensity that was on show was incredible and if I’m honest, I’m pleased I’m not going through that car crash anymore! But it was like they had taken so much from their kicking game in recent weeks that they thought the outcome would be similar if they did the same again.
I am all too aware that making decisions and executing
“There comes a point when there has to be a change in mindset or a small tweak in the game plan”
skill under the pressure of international rugby is a ridiculously hard thing to do and it is very easy to sit in the warmth of my own home commenting on whether something should have or could have happened.
However, there comes a point when there has to be a change in mindset or a small tweak in the game plan in order to change the focus. Other than the odd tap back in their favour, England were not getting much change from repetitively kicking the ball down field and I think that has to do with two things.
First, the accuracy of the kicks was not as good as it was in the previous two games. The balls were landing a few metres in front of the chase and so it became a clean take for Wales’ back three.
Second, there wasn’t as much variety in the way they played. England were difficult to read in previous weeks due to the fact that they targeted different areas of the field with both ball in hand and kicks.
Not only did Ben Youngs kick the ball from the base, Owen Farrell would kick long, he would kick cross field and he would release the ball to Manu Tuilagi and Henry Slade outside him. Elliott Daly was therefore able to join the line and put small probing kicks behind the openside wing and Slade was a genuine attacking and kicking threat. Perhaps it was the pressure they were under or perhaps it was because they came up against world class players in their own positions (France take note) but England struggled to take control of the aerial battle and it had a big impact on the result in the end. We all know how devastating this team is with ball in hand, and it would have been good to see more of this.
Another area of reflection is that of discipline. I wrote about this after the first game against Ireland. If England hadn’t given crucial penalties away in that game, the score line margin could have been even bigger.
Yet again, penalties were given away in their defensive area, which provided opportunities for Gareth Anscombe to slot three points. It was a typically tight affair but made even tighter by costly penalties in the second half. This enabled Wales to creep back in to the game and ultimately keep their winning streak going. No doubt this will be a slight concern for Eddie Jones and his players, but it is something that can be fixed.
One of the main positives to keep coming out of each game is the defence. Seeing Courtney Lawes in full flow is a sight to behold and his timing is impeccable.
This has always a strength of his, but he seems to have taken it to a new level. Tom Curry has come in to this side like he has been playing international rugby forever and doesn’t care who he comes up against. I love the fact he is so confrontational, and it does not matter that he is squaring up to someone who is older and much more experienced! To think he is only 20 is amazing.
There will be plenty of bruised bodies and heads this morning and perhaps England will reflect on what could have been. They will certainly feel it was one that got away.
Wales on the other hand are now the only team that can win the Grand Slam and will have taken a huge amount of confidence from their performance. This competition throws up all sorts of surprises and given there are still two games to play, who knows what will happen!