SIR CLIVE WOODWARD
gives his verdict on the Six Nations
ENGLAND VERDICT
IN one sense disappointment because that was the fourth straight year England have finished runners-up. Professional sport is about winning; sport’s oldest adage is ‘nobody remembers who came second’.
On the other hand, England are growing and improving and I am very positive and excited about this team. They have discovered a creative, attacking game that can put any team in the world under pressure if they have the courage to use it. If they work massively on their defence, ensure the full might and power of England’s front five can be brought into every game and become far more clinical in their decision-making at key moments they can achieve great things.
And Twickenham was rocking again on Saturday, the first time in ages we really did have 80,000 people on their feet screaming. England are going to be incredibly tough to beat at Twickenham this autumn and that’s a good place to be in a World Cup.
WHAT DID STUART LANCASTER GET RIGHT AND WRONG?
RIGHT: He has nailed down the first-choice half-back combination — George Ford and Ben Youngs — and that is huge. Ford has been impressive from the start and Youngs has finished the tournament like a train.
The coach has also given Jonathan Joseph his head at 13 and England have a real cutting edge at outside centre, supported by two fast-developing wings. Jack Nowell has impressed in all sorts of ways and Anthony Watson has pace and class, although he needs to find ways of getting more involved.
The first-choice England backs, with the exception of 12, pick themselves now and have a tournament together under their belt. Billy Vunipola is now an 80-minute player — he didn’t miss a minute of the five games. That’s a big step forward and down to hard work and dedication.
WRONG: Lancaster missed a golden opportunity to check on Danny Cipriani’s form by starting him against Scotland, when I would also have tried Henry Slade at 12. Ford could get injured, so Cipriani needs to be fully integrated and Slade could be the answer in a problem position.
England have also missed out by not getting Steffon Armitage involved because there are occasions when the back row has looked unbalanced and one-paced. It is too late now and that idea, alas, has to be binned totally.
I am still puzzled by some of the substitutions. No Cipriani against Ireland, then he was brought on at full back on Saturday when it cried out for him to play at inside centre. Also, why bring on Richard Wigglesworth, who is just not an impact player, for Youngs with 10 minutes left against France?
Youngs was enjoying the game of his life and when the adrenaline is pumping you can achieve remarkable things. It was his day and he wasn’t finished.
HOW CAN ENGLAND IMPROVE THEIR DEFENCE?
ENGLAND conceded 11 tries in the tournament and though I would discount the France game as an extraordinary one- off, they still coughed up sloppy scores in other games. At this level it is about two things on top of great technique.
Firstly, you have to throw a mental switch from attacking to defending. You must instantly go into a different mindset. That defensive mindset was just not there on Saturday and cost England the championship.
Secondly, you need to communicate all the time from 1-15 — keep talking, pointing and tackling. If Twickenham is going to become a fortress again it starts and finishes with defence — 11 tries is six too many for a team which has the firepower to trouble any side.
PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT
MY England player of the tournament is George Ford, who has quickly proved himself a real gem. He is the man who has started bringing out the full potential of a talented and dangerous England back division.
My player of the tournament, though, is Ireland flanker Sean O’Brien, who is a force of nature when fully fit. He set the tone for Ireland in their important win over England and his display against the Scots on Saturday was the most impactful individual performance of the tournament.
ARE IRELAND WORTHY CHAMPIONS?
YES, totally. They have the best coach in Joe Schmidt and the outstanding captain and leader in Paul O’Connell.
Ireland have seamlessly brought in young players, notably Jared Payne and Robbie Henshaw, who have replaced Brian O’Driscoll and Gordon D’Arcy. Schmidt varies his game plans and selections cleverly and rarely misses a trick. They outplayed and out-thought England in Dublin and their more expansive — but ruthless — game plan at Murrayfield was delivered perfectly.
Ireland are rock solid, they are only going to get better and will not fall off the cliff like they did in the 2007 World Cup in France. The Irish will be a big factor at RWC2015.
WALES VERDICT
THEY look very dangerous and threatening and are building their year nicely. Warren Gatland is another excellent coach — for some reason he never gets the full credit he is due — and he will have Wales perfectly fine-tuned by September. Their incredible defence against Ireland impressed me most of all and they have dangerous backs all over the park.
My one concern would be their front row, with injuries and the retirement of Adam Jones. Even in that huge win in Rome, Italy pushed them about a bit at scrum-time. They can’t afford that to happen at the World Cup but Gatland has been there and has the T- shirt, and Wales really need to get behind him now.
CHAMPAGNE MOMENT
IN fact it was a eureka moment! It was when Ford took that quick line- out throw on England’s own line in the first half on Saturday and started a brilliant counter-attack that ended with Youngs going in under the posts.
That was this England team at their best and most dangerous and they need to be fearless and reproduce that in the very biggest games. Will they do it in the first minute against a world-class team in the World Cup? That’s still the big question.
AND FINALLY THE FRENCH!
I DON’T buy for one minute this idea that the T14 is diluting their talent. They still have an incredible pool of players and any top coach would love the prospect of having the French national team.
They just need to stop looking for excuses and start to leverage their amazing talent. Yes, they have been a bit of a shambles at times in this tournament but, incredibly for a team who shipped 55 points, there were one or two hints at a brighter future on Saturday.
And I would say this: France turn up at World Cups. They have reached three finals and there will always be an anxiety about playing them in the knockout stages.