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SSeventeen years have passed since England won their first – and so far only – Rugby World Cup on an unforgettable night in Sydney. All of the social media flashbacks remind us of “white orcs on steroids” who, universally popular or not, were definitely ahead of the game in their day. All subsequent English teams, unfairly or not, are destined to be measured against them.
It is perhaps not a coincidence that Eddie Jones was Australia’s defeated coach in 2003 and that current England defense coach John Mitchell was in charge of the All Blacks who were knocked down in the semi-finals. Nothing motivates more certain than narrow failure and, despite all of Jones’ contributions as a consultant with South Africa in 2007, it’s impossible not to feel the desire that is currently evaporating in the England dressing room.
Certain things cannot be faked in international rugby and 246 tackles in 80 minutes, with just nine misses, is a sure sign that the England defense, Mitchell’s specific area of responsibility, is fast becoming the real deal. With the ball in hand there are still problems to be tackled, more of which later, but without it, England currently have few pairs.
It’s also crucial that they sound happy in their work, like a gang of Canadian lumberjacks drawing renewed energy from the tall wood that falls around them. “It was just contagious to see the guys deliver such great shots,” confirmed Kyle Sinckler, part of a group from England visibly determined to put the final World Cup loss to South Africa behind last fall. “You’re looking at Billy, Mako, the kamikaze boys, Maro, all just flying around and wanting to get a piece of the action. We don’t wait for Billy to make a big carry or Maro to get a big tackle loss or Underhill or Curry to get a loss. It was literally from the minute onwards, we just wanted it. Dress everyone, from 1-23, putting your body at stake.
As a third of an England starting fullback who made 74 tackles between them, more than Ireland’s count in the entire game, Sam Underhill is also well-positioned to quantify how collectively valuable such defensive inspiration can be. “I think it is as important as the attack, if not more important. If you can resist to the maximum, a team has to throw you and if you can recover the ball, it is as good a result as scoring. I think we’re seeing more and more the importance of aggressive defenses, not just hitting people for hitting people, but putting pressure on teams.
“We knew coming into the game that they had chosen a great group, a great midfield pair, it was always going to be a physical competition and our defense and our performance were always going to be part of that. I think it was an exceptional effort. “
What will please Jones even more is that his players seem increasingly determined to take responsibility for driving to their own high standards, rather than him or Mitchell just breaking the same old whip. As the head coach emphasized: “Most of our defense meetings are led by players. They own it and you can see how much they enjoy it. John has done a great job. “
It was simply too much for Ireland, who didn’t bother the scoreboard operator at all until six minutes after the end of their fourth consecutive loss to England in the space of 22 months. If it didn’t help that the injured Johnny Sexton was reduced to the role of water boy on the court, they still had more than two-thirds of possession and territory and created frustratingly little. All is not completely lost, but they urgently need Tadhg Furlong, Joey Carbery, Dan Leavy and Jordan Larmour back to give them a new lease of life and encourage them to play more than just straight line rugby and on a wall of bricks.
To be fair, they are not alone in a limited sport that is getting so tight and exhausting in winter that even the TMO will soon have to run weekly concussion tests. Thank goodness, then, for the maverick tendencies of Jonny May, whose second attempt, which elevated him to joint second place on England’s all-time scoring charts of attempts, was a splendid antidote to mole-hitting activity. prevailing around him.
Nothing will match his first test trial against the All Blacks at Twickenham in 2014, but this one came very close: a break of his own 22 and a high-speed chase to the other extreme: Mayday! Help! – which lacked only a few flashing blue hazard lights.
Gloucester’s wing’s hit rate of 31 attempts in 59 international appearances looks even better when you consider that he did not record any in his first seven games for England. The next logical step would seem to be finding ways to give the modern Jonny more opportunities; If Jones ‘team really wants to outshine the boys’ exploits of 2003, it will have to do more than just deal with claustrophobia and prevention. “The nice thing is that we know we’re not even scratching the surface,” Sinckler acknowledged. “We have a lot left in the tank.”
Wales out at Llanelli this Saturday may or may not be the place to launch a more ambitious game plan, but defensive zeal, no matter how incredibly intense, will take them only so far.
