England must score four tries against French 2nds
THERE is always a danger in making too many changes at international level and still expecting a team to function smoothly. We see it all the time in the Six Nations when you see leading teams put out a second-string mix against Italy, and it takes at least 15 minutes for them to reboot and start to connect together.
It just looks messy. The players may know each other well on the training field, but in a match it is different, and they have not had enough time to develop the instant understanding that’s required.
Eddie Jones likes to have his 700plus caps on the pitch for England, and he appears to take the view that it is always better to be winning games, although planning and development are also key.
You can question whether some players will be as competitive in three years’ time as they are now, and people will be saying that where there are question marks, rest them sometimes and give other players a chance. I understand that, but if someone is going strong at Test level, a coach will always be reluctant to change something that’s working.
We saw this when Jones moved Tom Curry to No.8 at the start of the last Six Nations and there were a lot of voices saying that Alex Dombrandt should be given a chance to show what he could do.
Eddie saw it differently. There are clearly standards that he has in his mind that you have to be a certain level in terms of fitness, decisionmaking, and rock-solid defence before he will bring you into the starting side. Players have to give him that light-bulb moment, and that’s why some of the guys in the wider squad remain, and others go back to their clubs.
I don’t often question Jones’ selections, although I said before the autumn that Ben Spencer should be introduced at scrum-half. He’s not even in the squad, but then you think why not give Dan Robson more of a run at scrum-half rather than let Ben Youngs play almost all of every match?
You could argue that the same applies at hooker with Jamie George getting priority over Luke CowanDickie, and at tighthead where Kyle Sinckler is ahead of Will Stuart.
However, there is a method to what Jones does, and it is one I agree with. It is that a team will perform better if only one or two changes are made, rather than six or seven.
It is based on the belief that the fewer changes you make to your best line-up, the more valuable the learning environment for the new players you draft into the team. For example, it is far better for Ollie Lawrence to be the only newcomer in the backline, with experienced players all around him, rather than being picked as one of three new backs who are having to find their own way.
If you get the balance right it helps new players to build their confidence, whereas if you get it wrong in making too many changes those same newcomers can go backwards in terms of learning, rather than forwards.
While you can experiment by making lots of changes in training matches, I believe it’s a smart, wise move not to do it in international matches.
France have not had much choice in picking a second string side due to the French Federation’s agreement with Top 14 clubs on player release, but you would want England to beat them comfortably – and score at least four tries in the process – because that’s what the number two side in the world should be doing to a French second team.
After this Autumn Nations Cup it should be onwards and upwards for England after a series of matches led mainly by defence and kicking strategy.
Jones has brought Jason Ryles back into the squad as a skills coach, but he has made his name mainly in defence as assistant coach for the Australian NRL champions, Melbourne Storm. It could be that Ryles will also have an influence in the transition from defence to attack with England, but what I’d like to see most is more strike moves from setpieces, so that they are attacking from first-phase rather than after laying down multiple phases.
Set-piece is a great opportunity to attack, because it is from scrums and lineouts that there is now the most space – and it’s where attack coach Simon Amor needs to make sure his voice is heard.
There are now so many substitutes that there is no longer any point waiting to win a game in the last 15 minutes, because nobody is out on their feet.
Following Manu Tuilagi’s injury Jones appears to be leaning back towards the 10-12 combination of George Ford and Owen Farrell, but I’m not sure about it.
There is no question that Ford at fly-half and Farrell at inside centre has often been successful, and that Ford and Farrell are in sync together, and both execute well – but it takes away from England functioning best as a direct side, where you need an inside centre to take a direct attacking line.
Before Jones opted for a 10-12-13 midfield trio of Ford-Farrell-Tuilagi for the World Cup semi-final against New Zealand, and for the final against South Africa, his preferred midfield seemed to be Farrell at 10, Tuilagi at 12, and Henry Slade at 13.
Ford and Farrell give England a different, less direct attacking shape, and even more so when Tuilagi isn’t outside them, so Jones has to weigh whether it will be one of those things he will regret if he sticks with it.
As for the new players he has introduced, like Jack Willis, Ben Earl, and Lawrence, I’d like to see more of them, but not all at once.
My overall view on England is that it’s not been pretty so far this Autumn, but the team is developing, and we might see a bit more attack against France today – and even more in the 2021 Six Nations.
“Jones appears to be leaning back to the Ford-Farrell combination but I’m not sure about it”