Care’s closing in for the kill
SO MUCH has changed since Eddie Jones rolled into the England camp, his impish grin just as dazzling as his steely heart.
Here was a man prepared to turn your world upside down and somehow convince you it was all in your best interests – exactly what was required after the prescriptive Stuart Lancaster regime.
Danny Care was among the fi rst benefi ciaries, given the No 9 jersey for Jones’ fi rst Test, the Six Nations opener against Scotland, having been overlooked for the World Cup. And after a solid if unspectacular victory, the Harlequin might have expected another go in Rome. Think again. Jones praised Care for his afternoon’s work, then dropped him to the bench. In the Australian’s world it’s horses for courses, the collective always ahead of the individual, and the skills of Ben Youngs in what was sure to be an early arm wrestle with the Azzurri were required.
How right he was. Youngs was named man of the match for his part in establishing England’s stranglehold on the match; Care came on and in half- an- hour his less predictable playbook had turned an 11- 9 lead into a 40- 9 victory.
Now all he has to do is change his mindset, with Jones, above, using the analogy of the highly valued baseball closer to describe the way he views his replacements.
“Eddie said to me after the game last week he thought I played really well, so obviously I would like to have started again,” said Care. “But he wanted to change it up a little bit and see Ben play and wants to see me off the bench.
“I was disappointed not to be in the starting line- up but I knew I had a big role to come off the bench and give some energy and try to win the game and kill it off. And it went quite well.”
That it did, with Care involved in Jonathan Joseph’s second and third tries. In fact, all England’s benchmen made their mark, with Jack Clifford and Jamie George combining to put Owen Farrell over for the fi fth try, Joe Marler and Paul Hill making hay against a tiring Italian scrum, and Maro Itoje giving glimpses of the loose forward giant he seems destined to become. It was all so different from just a few months ago, when Lancaster appeared to use his replacements to react to what was happening on the pitch, rather than determine it.
“We talked about going really hard at the fi rst 20 minutes, controlling the middle period then killing them off in the last 20,” said Care.
“Obviously everyone wants to be in that starting line- up, you want to be out there having the fi rst crack at it. But it’s a squad effort. Whoever is on the bench is still a very good player and when they come on they’re looking to further what the guy
WHAT WE HAVE LEARNT ABOUT THE TOURNAMENT AFTER TWO ROUNDS
DEFENCE IS KEY BUT WHY? Under the current points system, there is no incentive in the Six Nations to thrill, just the pressure to win.
England and Wales proved again that defence is the bedrock to success. Both teams won but only after making more tackles than their opponents.
Space is at a premium in the Six Nations. Jonathan Joseph scored a hat- trick against Italy but only ran a modest 65 metres. Wales failed to make a single line break against Ireland, who similarly failed in Paris.
The weather is undeniably a factor but are fans being short- changed given the rising price of tickets? WOULD BONUS POINTS CHANGE ANYTHING? Undoubtedly. The Six Nations is the only major rugby competition in the world that does not reward teams for scoring four tries or losing by less than seven points. Critics defend the sanctity of the Grand Slam but adding extra rewards could avoid any anomalies in who lifts has done before them. The lads who start the game do the real hard stuff and whoever comes off the bench gets to fi nish it off.
“If you’re in the 23 you want to play, you want to get on the pitch. You’ve worked hard in training. You want to get a chance to play some game time. I got half- an- hour, which I was happy with. I enjoyed that role.”
It certainly played to his strengths, his up- tempo, off- the- cuff style exemplifi ed by the delicate grubber kick that put Joseph away for his second, footballing skills that would be admired by the Stadio Olimpico’s u s u a l tenants, L a z i o . “It was a little
nudge t h r o u g h , one of those, you hope it pops up and luckily it did,” said Care.
“I saw a bit of space. I know JJ’s pretty quick and if I put it in his channel he’s going to get there. It’s nice when they come off.”
WORCESTER have signed the South Africa scrum- half and sevens specialist Francois Hougaard until the end of the season. the title and help shift attitudes towards more attacking play. England would be a point clear at the top of the table if bonus points were in use. WHAT AREA OF THE GAME IS THE MOST COMPETITIVE? England at Murrayfi eld, the Welsh in Dublin and France against Ireland all showed how a strong scrum can turn the tables on their opponents. And without players such as Cian Healy and Marty Moore, that has become Ireland’s Achilles heel.
But lineouts are there to be won. Wales negated Scotland’s traditional strength; England, despite the return of Dylan Hartley, only had a 69 per cent success rate in Rome; and France and Ireland both surrendered throws. As a result, we have seen precious few tries from driving mauls. IS BRUTE FORCE STILL THE DECIDING FACTOR? Sadly yes. Wales promised a more expansive game after the World Cup but Warren Gatland’s players look confused after eight years playing ‘ Warrenball’. When they reverted to type in the second half against Scotland, their will proved far more effective than their skill, and monster backs Jamie Roberts, inset with Taulupe Faletau, and George North made the difference.
Similarly, ‘ French fl air’ appears a thing of the past, as proved to be the case against Ireland in a match only the most bloody- minded would win. Italy tried to throw it about but were punished by Jonathan Joseph’s interception, which turned the match. Scotland are close to the tournament’s most entertaining side – but are nil from two. CAN JONES EMULATE GATLAND AND SCHMIDT? Warren Gatland and Joe Schmidt both lifted the trophy in their fi rst seasons in charge of Wales and Ireland respectively and, so far, Eddie Jones is on track to do the same. Whereas Gatland ripped everything up and started again in 2008, Jones has been canny to build on England’s strengths, just tweaking and tightening, with more clarity in selection. The result is a far happier England camp. STRENGTH IN DEPTH IS KEY England have started blooding the next generation in Jamie George, Paul Hill and Maro Itoje. But depth is a real problem for Ireland, who began the tournament without fi ve Lions and could now lose Sean O’Brien, Dave Kearney and Mike McCarthy after the bruising battle in Paris. Wales had to patch themselves up at the World Cup but have players returning and could get stronger, with Rhys Webb set to return at some stage.
MATT LLOYD