>> Guscott: Half-backs are key to winning title
THE 9 and 10 in most teams are the be-alland-end-all in terms of playing smart, wellexecuted rugby, and it applies to every team in the 2021 Six Nations. Your halfback pairing have to understand each other, and the sooner they get that telepathic understanding the more effective they are.
Ireland’s Conor Murray and Johnny Sexton are the best example of that brains trust in the tournament, because they have played together for so long. In the past the passing has been 9 to 10, and the fly-half would usually then link with the forwards or move the ball wide, but now that has changed with the scrum-half feeding anybody from props and locks to wingers as often as they pass it to the 10.
Communication between the fly-half and the forwards used to be key, but I’ve seen big disagreements between what the 10 wants and what the forwards give him, and vice versa. The no-nos for the forwards are fly-halves who consistently kick badly, or launch moves where their backs are caught well behind the gain-line. The no-nos for fly-halves are forwards who do not win their own scrum and lineout ball.
The 9 and 10 are the main strategists in deciding whether you run or kick, and where on the field you do it. The scrum-half and fly-half are the main influencers because of how many times the ball goes through their hands – and that is why they are always under the microscope.
Timing is so important to both positions, because, even though everything is travelling at 100 mph, they have the time on the ball to do what they want to. Antoine Dupont seemed to have more time than anyone else in last season’s Six Nations, and that is because when you are playing as well as he was you have a heightened anticipation in terms of seeing space, and therefore delivering ahead of everybody else. At 9 and 10 it is a game of chess, and you want to be a move ahead.
When I look at the scrum-halves in most of the teams who have won the World Cup, they almost all stand out – and that is because if there is a fault line at 9-10 you are restricted in how you can play. If the 9 keeps getting caught at the breakdown, or the 10 is not kicking well, then their forwards usually have no momentum. For the Irish, Murray is still the best box-kicker in international rugby, and the sharpness of Sexton’s mind is still pulling him through games. However, every year after 30 the likelihood is that even the brain is moving slower. There was a sense in the 2020 Six Nations of Sexton getting frustrated with himself because, although he still kicks penalties brilliantly, at 35 he sees the march of time.
Murray is 31, and given decent ball he can still be influential, because, as well as his kicking, he is still a threat around the edges. The Munster scrum-half knows what is required, and when.
England’s two performances at Twickenham in the 2020 tournament were good, with Ben Youngs and Owen Farrell both impressive – whereas in the opening game in Paris they were awful.
To my mind, when you win 100 caps like Youngs has, you’ve got to be doing something right. When he is on fire he very rarely gets scragged, and he is very good at darting into the gap and linking. People have criticised Youngs for sideways steps, but it brings a defence onto you, and if somebody picks a good running line it can be very effective. By the same token, if the timing is off, and either Youngs or the runner are nailed, then he’s criticised for being too slow to get the ball away.
Both of them are very influential for England, and on the field Farrell – who I would always pick ahead of George Ford – especially so. It is because he loves the combat, wants to win, and almost always kicks the goals he has to. That’s why if Farrell makes a mistake – such as dropping the ball, or being swamped by the defence – it comes as a bit of a shock, because it happens so rarely.
I’d like to see England be a bit more free spirited at 9-10, and although Youngs has a bit of that, what Farrell does is more structured. It’s because Saracens have a system, and it is about putting yourself in the right place by manipulating the opposition so they are in the wrong pace. It’s more of a rugby leaguegeshape where you put the defending side in a check-mate position. My only problem is that they often don’t see that they can do it fom 70 yards out, rather than waiting until they are 20 yards out
For France it all star with Dupont. He is mercurial. Brilliant. However, the young scrum-half is at beginning of his journey
His fly-half partner Romain Ntamack is recovering from a double jaw break at the end of December and is certain to miss the first two rounds. But the Toulouse duo
be the heroes of the 2023 World Cup, and a future 60-cap Murray-Sexton partnership.
I also believe that because head coach Fabien Galthie was a scrumhalf, and manager Raphael Ibanez a former France captain, they really understand the importance of an effective 9-10 pairing, and how being so poor there for so long undermined France. Ntamack wants to push the boundaries. He is not a maverick like Carlos Spencer, and the measure of his success will be in doing the risk assessment properly – when to go, and when to rein it in. During his absence, France have a more than able deputy in Matthieu Jalibert who showed fine form against England in the Autumn Nations Cup final at Twickenham.
Ali Price is the man in possession of the Scotland scrum-half shirt, and he needs to find the quality of performance so he can share the stage with virtuoso flyhalf Finn Russell. Sometimes there is a sense that Price is too eager, and that his mind gets ahead of his movement.
Price needs to be more consistent and accurate in the basics – he’s quick and snappy, and he’s got the pace, but his timing needs to be tighter.
Wales have some quick scrumhalves of their own in Gareth Davies, far left, and Tomos Williams, who has just returned from injury. Davies and Williams have thrived despite the competition from Rhys Webb, and Davies has scored some really good tries. However, where you would put money on a Murray box-kick to land in a ten foot square box, you would not be quite so confident with the Welsh pair.
At fly-half Wales have gone through a period of favouring solid over spectacular. Dan Biggar was the favoured 10 for most of the Warren Gatland era, with Rhys Priestland and Rhys Patchell also in contention, although Gareth Anscombe – and James Hook – also had their moments.
There is a lot to like about Biggar, who is a brilliant kicker, great under the high ball, and an emotional driving force with a huge will to win. With Anscombe and Patchell injured his main competition will come from Calum Sheedy, left, who is another good, solid 10. If Wales play like Bristol, he could do well.
Lastly, Italy have a mix of new and old at scrum-half, with Welshborn teenager Stephen Varney vying with the more experienced Callum Braley and Guglielmo Palazzani. They are also three deep at fly-half, where the powerful youngster Paolo Garbisi has supplanted Tommaso Allan and Carlo Canna.
Their challenge is to be influential enough to steer Italy towards a win after a 27-match losing run.