Guile rather than brute force may be needed for an England victory
ENGLAND will have been much more disappointed with their opening fixture of the Six Nations than Scotland.
Whilst no one likes to lose, Scotland were very close to the Irish in Dublin, and that was despite the turmoil in the camp following the dropping of star fly-half Finn Russell for breaching team rules.
As it was, Gregor Townsend must have been pleased with the form of replacement Adam Hastings and the team as a whole.
Frustrating failures of precision cost them a remarkable result, but he will feel the trajectory is upwards.
Meanwhile, England came up against an improved and improving France in a cauldron in Paris.
Once again the lack of a plan B and loss of vital personnel to plan A proved England’s undoing.
There is no replacement for the
Vunipolas in Eddie Jones’s game plan, and the departure of Manu Tuilagi (clearly a known risk given the make-up of England’s bench) left the team toothless.
All the worries that I dismissed pre-match came home to roost – World Cup final hangover, Saracens players lacking form and concentration and no plan B, and the French were comfortable and worthy winners.
Clearly, Jones has deemed Nathan Hughes not up to International rugby, and in his absence there is no number 8 that can fill the role of Billy Vunipola.
Tom Curry has the potential to be one of the very best back row players in world rugby, but he is not a number eight. The fact that the squad remains unaltered means England will need to find a different way of playing, utilising an element of guile rather than the bludgeoning approach preferred by Jones in his role as England supremo.
Jones’s time with Japan proves that he is able to utilise different techniques, but whether his current squad can change emphasis quickly enough is open to question.
The resources available to England should mean that they can win in Edinburgh, even if they are not playing to their potential and they have issues with form, concentration and their game plan.
That’s no disrespect to Scotland, but they only have two professional teams to pick from and always struggle for power at the top level. However, another loss will surely have Jones looking at his choices in terms of captain and other leaders.