A SIGN OF HOPE AMID THE TEARS
England gutted to fall short again but it looks good for World Cup
IN THE closing stages of the RBS 6 Nations’ greatest day, Ben Youngs played like a true champion. But that status eluded him once again — and he knew exactly why.
England’s scrum- half had tormented France during the gloriously, bewilderingly compelling match which provided a pulsating finale to Super Saturday.
But a fourth successive year as runners-up left the national team shattered, with their gallant role in epic sporting drama serving as meagre consolation.
And though Youngs had been the catalyst for a daring charge towards the unlikely target of a 26-point winning margin with his two tries, countless line-breaks and dashing creativity, collective disappointment eclipsed any personal pride.
As participants and observers alike tried to make sense of a 90- point, 12- try edition of ‘ Le Crunch’ which often defied logic, the devastated man of the match pinpointed why there were no medals around English necks.
‘I don’t think the Six Nations title was lost today, it was lost last week, when we missed too many chances,’ he said, in reference to the 25-13 victory over Scotland seven days earlier. ‘We should have been way ahead on points difference going into this game.’
Correct. It would have deprived a captivated audience of an absorbing spectacle spanning three high- octane games but England could have made Saturday’s fixtures in Rome and Edinburgh all but irrelevant if they hadn’t squandered a raft of try-scoring openings in round four. If Stuart Lancaster’s men had merely needed to win they would not have scorched the earth as they did time and again in front of a fervent crowd, but it is highly likely they would have secured their prize.
Instead, they ran amok to amass a record total against their cross-Channel rivals, only to be left six points short and inches from glory as a rolling maul at the end threatened to bring the house down until referee Nigel Owens penalised the hosts to signal the dying of the light.
After familiar English dejection and an outpouring of Irish euphoria as Joe Schmidt’s team m retained their title on points difference, ference, the inquests began at Twickenham.
Circumstances demanded an adventurous streak and the upshot was seven tries against opponents who had conceded just two in their previous four games. A torrent off quick lineouts and tapped penalties, heads- up running and off-loading made for a stirring sight but, while the real al damage had been done a week before, there werere also fresh faults.
For all his evident pride, backs coach Andy Farrell will not have been amused to see England concede five tries at home, even though they had to go for broke. When Vincent Debaty rounded off a stunning French raid on the hour Youngs wore a thunderous look. ‘They took their tries well but we’ve got to be better than that,’ he said. ‘It was one step forward, one step back. For every good thing we did we weren’t able to keep backing it up. If we can be a bit smarter in defence, that is the way for us to play.’
England’s expansive approach was certainly effective and pleasing to the eye but there was a period in the first half when they became too frantic, when a composed outlook would have told them to build a score patiently.
Still, criticism must be tempered in the context of a 20-point thumping of a French team which bore no resemblance to the rabble of previ- ous weekends. For Youngs, there was irritation that their opponents had fought hard while Scotland and Italy had presented limited resistance to the other title challengers.
‘France turned up — I don’t know what happened to Italy or Scotland,’ he said. ‘We knew we were going to be chasing it and we did that. But it was shame those other teams weren’t a bit more resilient.’
France’s resilience brought out the best in several England players besides Youngs. Captain Chris Robshaw strove to carry the ball and the team heroically while James Haskell was in the sin bin for a rash trip in the second half. Billy Vunipola completed another 80 minutes of surging intensity and out wide Jack Nowell had been peripheral early on but by the end he was rampant and had another two tries.
English thoughts of ‘if only’ have become an annual routine and this year they have cause to lament the failure to cope with an aerial barrage in Dublin and their profligacy against Scotland. The second-half efforts against Wales and France represented their peaks and as Courtney Lawes noted, with the World Cup in mind they will take heart from recent wins over Pool A rivals Wales and Australia.
Twickenham was loud and proud on Saturday evening and with five consecutive victories there, Lancaster’s side are enjoying a spell of home rule at just the right time. The performances of George Ford, Jonathan Joseph and Nowell have generated optimism, and while inside centre remains a problem position, in most areas there are now multiple options. The likes of Manu Tuilagi, Joe Launchbury and Alex Corbisiero face a battle to reclaim lost places.
As they stood in their post-match huddle England were no doubt exhausted and demoralised. Finishing second again suggests they are stuck on a plateau but, in certain respects, this performance represented telling and timely progress.