IIt’s not every season that England achieve a more impressive record in Tests in France than hosts Gaul.Six wins and one point from seven World Cup matches in France over the past seven months isn’t the worst springboard heading into the final weekend of the Six Nations, especially after blues The team has failed to win in its last three home games.
France haven’t gone an entire tournament without a home win since the Five Nations was formed in 1999, which might explain their lack of experimentation in this weekend’s Round 23 tie. The subtext is clear: France is taking the game seriously, even if this particular version of Le Crunch isn’t quite as contemporary as some of its predecessors.
Suddenly it also feels like a century has passed since the teams’ last game at Twickenham a year ago. France didn’t just beat England: they beat England so thoroughly that the 53-10 scoreline could have been worse.Whether it’s rugby or wine, it’s not always going to be a good year, and blues In the first three rounds, they played some obviously rough old music.
There were some better signs for Cardiff, though, despite playing against an understrength Wales side who found some holes in France’s defense in the first half. This left England with a tactical option.Will they put aside last weekend’s Twickenham boom and avoid play, play – Play, play – might suit their hosts’ playing style, or are they trying to serve up as much of the same fizzing special cuvée as possible?
The essentially identical nature of the Red Rose team sheet suggests the latter, and why not? France’s forwards are such a large individual unit that logically they need to be mobilized. France’s behemoths would certainly welcome it if dragged into a scrum; asking their front five to run a little more and potentially opening up some defensive holes again.
Retaining George Furbank was therefore again about injecting extra energy into the full-backs, although Steve Borthwick resisted the temptation to hand the No. 10 jersey to Marcus Smith from the outset. Good teams still need someone to guide them on the field and wrest control from George Ford, as the Irish’s success can also erode the drafting cohesion the front office wants to build.
It also brought some real impact to England’s bench, with Smith, Danny Care and Alex Dombrandt once again called upon to bring their collective harlequin skills to the table, while Manu Tui Raj returned to the tournament for the first time. England will miss the precocious ability of the unavailable Emmanuel Faye-Waboso, but Tuilagi brings his own unique brand of thunder.
With several French suitors looking to hire him next season, this could be Tuilagi’s last hurray in an England shirt. It’s also an opportunity to remind everyone involved what else can be done. It doesn’t take a PhD in physics to suggest that this will involve a fair degree of force, but Borthwick also wants his side to be smart in finding ways to counter France’s own power and pace. “Tactically, we want to make sure that what we’re doing is profitable so that we can limit their opportunities,” he said.
After a draw at home to Italy in Lille and a poor performance against Ireland in Marseille, there was a feeling that France still had a point or two to prove. “Test rugby is a physical challenge,” Borthwick said. “The two teams that probably pose the biggest physical challenge right now are South Africa and France. We know it’s going to happen on Saturday night and we’ve been preparing for it and I’m looking forward to seeing what’s next for our team.”
The England side also have the motivation of last year’s Twickenham defeat. “I was very open about England’s situation at the time… we were well behind the top teams in the world,” Borthwick said. “Their tactical kicking, hitting and power all apply to this game. I talk about learning a lot and the team is constantly trying to learn from every experience.”
The manager has been around long enough – “We have to ask different questions to France than we asked Ireland last week” – to know that England cannot rely solely on a good performance last week. For the future of the team, Ireland’s upturn last Saturday was not a one-off and, mentally, they will not back down. “This is an ongoing message for this team,” Borthwick said. “We either fall victim to mistakes or choose to continue the way we play. At Murrayfield we dwell on mistakes and that leads to more mistakes. That’s a mentality I’m trying to change.”
