County’s rain-check ahead of key clash
Wales show ruthless streak, but need to create more
NEWPORT County have switched their home clash with promotion rivals Forest Green Rovers to 1pm tomorrow lunchtime because of the heavy rain forecast for today, writes ROB COLE.
The game was due to take place the day after the Dragons and Leinster will have played on the Rodney Parade pitch in their Guinness PRO14 clash. With more heavy rain due to fall it would have put the League Two fixture under threat.
With teams throughout the Football League playing twice a week, the governing body has given clubs the green light to be more flexible in their arrangements for games. That decision led County to contact Forest Green, based 50 miles away in Nailsworth, to ask for the game to be moved back one day.
The knock-on impact is they will lose a day of preparation for their midweek clashes. County head to Walsall on Wednesday, when Forest Green host Southend.
“We are running out of weeks to reorganise games. The only spare week we’ve got now is the international break. There is no guarantee we will have any call-ups, but we couldn’t take that risk,” said Newport boss Michael Flynn.
“The game would be off on Saturday because of the game on Friday night and the weather forecast for Saturday. It gives everybody a little bit more time to get the pitch playable.
“It also helps in stopping players playing Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday. It’s the best thing all round for us and for Forest Green.
“I hope we don’t have to do this again. I don’t think there is any more rugby between this weekend and the end of the season, which is a good thing, but you just don’t know with the weather.
“Maybe we could bring a game forward to a Friday night in the future. It’s not just thinking about playing the games, we have to think about the welfare of the players.
“If they are playing three times a week I can guarantee you there will be a spike in injuries. Clubs have to be flexible in what is an unprecedented season, year and life at the moment.”
Having struggled to pick up an equalising goal in the 87th minute against Exeter City in midweek when the visitors we down to nine men just before half-time, County need to find a way to win again to maintain their promotion push. Beating second placed Forest Green would be a big statement.
“It’s tough for everybody in this unprecedented season, but nobody has got more belief in this group than me,” said Flynn.
“There are a lot of things that have gone wrong and we’re not in a good run of form. We should’ve won the last two, but we didn’t – that’s where we are at.”
WHEN Wayne Pivac’s coaching ticket was announced in December 2018, it was the name of Stephen Jones that perhaps generated the most excitement.
He was the man at the helm of a Scarlets attack that was scoring tries for fun while remaining pleasing to the eye. The prospect of him taking charge of Wales’ attack and providing a certain je ne sais quoi was a salivating one.
In truth though, Jones’ first 12 months didn’t quite go to plan.
Naturally, the former Wales flyhalf would never have expected the transition to international coaching to be totally straightforward, but his first year in the job has been tough.
Throughout 2020, Wales spluttered and stuttered to just three victories. There was a lack of a clear gameplan and it was one of the many sticks use to beat Wayne Pivac’s side with.
However, it now seems like Wales are starting to bear the fruits of last year’s tricky labour.
For Jones, stepping into the biggest job of his coaching career so far hasn’t always been easy given the tumultuous nature of 2020, but he’s delighted the tide is now seemingly turning in his favour.
“I was fortunate to have the experience of working with Warren Gatland at the World Cup,” said the 43-year-old.
“The Six Nations was obviously cut short. We didn’t have the tour so we didn’t have access to players for a long time.
“With the autumn, we made it clear what the autumn series was about, which was to develop and learn about a lot of the players.
“With that goes a bit of the results, but it was about the bigger picture.
“But so far, we’re two from two and we’ve got good momentum which is exactly what we want.”
The disruption of last year is a factor that is often overlooked, perhaps willingly.
Wales have undergone the biggest wholesale change of any Test rugby team in the past year – losing a decade’s worth of intellectual property on their coaching staff and moving in a different direction with a new set of coaches.
The impact that coronavirus had on them cannot be understated, robbing them of much-needed minutes on the training paddock.
The regression from last year’s Six Nations, where Wales had shown glimpses and improved as time went on, was perhaps inevitable after so long out. Add in the decision to blood youth in the autumn at the expense of results and suddenly the pressure was mounting on the coaches.
It would have been easy for things to fall apart quickly, but if Wales’ two victories have shown anything so far, it’s that the squad is still blessed with a steely determination.
“I think if you look at the squad, there’s a lot of guys who have won a lot of trophies,” adds Jones. “There’s a lot of good leaders in this squad. They drive the standards and when the young guys are exposed to that, it helps them develop.
“You look at the character of the group, it’s very, very good. The manner we’ve won... the group has shown great self-belief and that’s credit to the players.”
Another pleasing aspect has been where Wales have learnt from previous mistakes.
Whereas the autumn was largely characterised by an uninspiring attack ruined by slow ball and breakdown issues, Wales, while far from perfect, have resolved a number of problems.
They look all the better for it, having scored six tries in their opening two matches despite being secondbest in the possession and territory columns in both games.
For Jones, the task of improving Wales’ attack – and, in turn, learning more about himself as a coach – is a constant, never-ending one.
“You’re learning all the time. It’s as simple as that,” Jones explained.
“Whether you’re learning about certain players you work with or law changes that affect something.
“The most recent one was the autumn where the contact area was
key. Talking from an attack perspective, efficiency there and how you get the speed of ball to play the want to play is the big focus.
“Gareth Williams has been fantastic for us in that aspect. When you attack, you want to control and dictate the speed of the game.
“Being efficient in the contact area allows you to do that.”
Wales’ added efficiency in the contact area has allowed them to be more clinical with the limited possession they’ve had, hence the increase in tries.
It begs the question are we currently witnessing the attack that Jones had envisioned for Wales when he accepted the job back in 2018? The Scarlets way, if you will?
“I think it’ll be different if I’m honest with you,” he admitted.
“First of all, the boys were ruthless. The opportunities they created and how they converted them were very good.
“The key for us is that when we play and attack with the ball we’ve seen it in patches but we want to see more of it.
“Speed of ball, how we shape defences, that is our focus point. We just want to do that for longer periods, that is our goal.
“It’s a challenge to have, everyone understands how we want to play.
“Yes, we want to be ruthless but ultimately we want to create more as well.”
Of course, having a finisher like Louis Rees-Zammit on the wing is always helpful when it comes to the attack.
The danger is that the young man, only just 20, gets consumed by sort of hype that is somewhat unique to Welsh rugby’s goldfish bowl.
Jones, though, isn’t too concerned about that. He believes the Gloucester wing has more than enough about him to temper the expectations and get on with things at his own pace.
“He’s aware he’s got a lot to work on. Both sides of the ball to work hard on. There’s a lot of focus points,” said Jones.
“The key for me is we all know he’s got talent, but he’s putting in the hard work.
“That’s how you make the big gains. He’s a good person to work with, but he understands he’s got a lot to work on.”
For Jones now, there’s the prospect of a first piece of silverware as Wales coach next weekend.
Eddie Jones’ England are in town albeit without the sort of swagger you might expect as defending Six Nations champions - but for Jones, it’s another chance to test his attack.
“We’ve got a huge amount of respect for England for what they’ve achieved, in last year’s Six Nations and the autumn,” he said.
“The players they’ve got, their mindset and repeatability in defence, I respect them in that part of the game. For our attack it’s a great challenge and one we’ve got to really look forward to.
“We know it’s going to be a physical challenge, but we’re back in Cardiff and are two from two. There’s a lot of momentum and huge amount of excitement here.”
ENGLAND went into this Six Nations with coach Eddie Jones informing the world he wanted them to be an “impossible team to play against.”
Evidently, Scotland didn’t get the message.
How Gregor Townsend’s side won only 11-6 at Twickenham is a mystery that Miss Marple would have struggled to get her head around, with the blue-shirted visitors dominant in pretty much every area.
But win they did, nonetheless. A 41-18 success over Italy would have lifted spirits a tad in the English camp and bookmakers still see them as odds-on favourites to beat Wales in Cardiff next Saturday.
But with the hosts playing for a Triple Crown it is set to be the tightest of encounters. These Wales v England matches often are.
What areas of the English game and approach might favour Wales?
1. KEY PLAYERS LACKING GAME TIME
England’s team is built around a core of normally excellent Saracens players who have played little rugby this season, with the quintet of Owen Farrell, Jamie George, Mako Vunipola, Billy Vunipola and Maro Itoje not having taken the field in 62 days before the Six Nations started.
Rust has been evident to the point where a quick squirt of WD-40 will not suffice.
If Itoje has had his moments, the others all look as if they still have much room to improve.
Billy Vunipola is usually a ball-carrying spearhead, but defences have managed to keep him in check in the championship so far. Against Scotland, his influence on the match ranged from weak to non-existent, with the visitors utterly subduing him.
Nor was Jamie George at his best, his customary lineout accuracy deserting him, while Owen Farrell has been ordinary and Elliot Daly is making mistakes.
The Saracens brigade are the soul of Eddie Jones’ team.
On form they are outstanding players.
But it’s not happening for them bar Itoje right now.
If Wales can plant further doubts in their minds early on, that’s not going to hurt the chances of landing the Triple Crown.
2. TOO ONE-DIMENSIONAL
England have dangerous wings. Even if Jonny May can make errors, in attack the Gloucester man and Anthony Watson can worry the best defences.
But they saw little possession against the Scots.
The centre Ollie Lawrence’s first pass on his full Six Nations debut came in the 63rd minute. Not a single England player made a clean break. May made mistakes, Watson was anonymous.
Against Italy, there were more grounds for encouragement, with Watson involved and outstanding, but the feeling remains that the limited Plan A that Eddie Jones seems to favour, involving forward domination and eliminating risk, hits trouble if the opposition are able to stand firm.
That doesn’t mean Wales should get involved in a slug-fest with England’s big pack.
But it does mean that a strong Welsh forward performance, of the sort they produced when seeing off Jones’ team in the Grand Slam campaign of 2019, will be needed.
Resist Jones’ team up front and they don’t appear to have anywhere to go. Off-the-cuff rugby isn’t what they are about.
3. THE FARRELL FACTOR
Owen Farrell is worth a section on his own.
As skipper he is supposed to set the tone and tempo for his side. Leadership by example is at the centre of his brief.
But in this championship so far he’s been ineffectual. The big issue for him is his own form, which has been ordinary. Playing at 10 against Scotland, he lacked creativity, and the situation wasn’t much better when he moved to inside centre against Italy.
He became frustrated against the Azzurri, with the bookmakers’ favourite to lead the Lions against South Africa dashing 10 metres to
get involved in a small forwards dust-up at one point.
Then he featured in a heated discussion with referee Mike Adamson.
It wasn’t great.
And it wasn’t what his side needed.
We haven’t even got around to discussing Farrell’s muchscrutinised tackle technique.
He’s evidently not where he should be right now.
That’s not the worst news for Wales.
4. STEADY, EDDIE
Are England under Jones picking their best players?
Who is their top No.10 right now? Is Farrell worth a place given his current form? Should the immensely-powerful Lawrence be given another chance? And why wasn’t Paolo Odogwu looked at against Italy?
In the Gallagher Premiership he’s been hot, hot, hot for Wasps, with his display against Bath last month on a different level. Elliot Daly? Up and down.
What’s wrong with Harry Randall, so busy and creative for Bristol?
Jones says England may be lacking aggression because of the absence of crowds, backing up his claim with the findings from a study of an Austrian football team, and it is true that the men in white are shy of their usual vigour: last season they averaged 23.4 dominant tackles per Six Nations game; this term they’ve managed 11 such hits over two matches.
But the absence of supporters hits everyone.
Right now, England’s players appear overly programmed.
Right now, it’s debatable the right ones are even on the pitch in the first place.
5. DISCIPLINE AND TEMPERAMENT
England have given away 27 penalties in two games. That’s more than any other side in the championship. Five of those have been conceded at scrums.
Maro Itoje and Ellis Genge have fallen on the wrong side of officialdom five times each.
Genge had a few issues with his Italian opponents after coming on as a replacement last week – Best Friends bracelets were not exchanged – and didn’t totally please the referee with his set-piece work. The England prop appears to have a short fuse which isn’t always great for a team. Last, but not least, is Farrell. He’ll be desperate to up his game, but he can sometimes resemble a steaming kettle with a rattling lid.
The best captains strike the right balance between aggression and composure.
It’s not altogether clear England’s leader has the mix right at the moment.
Two years ago, Wales kept their discipline brilliantly against England in Cardiff, conceding just three penalties, while their opponents had to replace an increasingly wound-up Kyle Sinckler.
Such things matter.
To repeat their triumph of two years ago, Wales will have to play exceptionally well, better than they have performed in this championship so far.
But Jones’ team are not an impossible side to play against.
They have strengths and weaknesses like any other team. It’s up to Wales to exploit those areas of vulnerability.
Nothing is impossible., as a wise man said.