Jeremy Guscott: Eddie must get England playing at a higher tempo
Scotland’s visits to Paris and London do not make for happy bedtime reading over the last 20 years – in fact, it’s the stuff of nightmares. That is why they have to get away from history were England and Scotland are concerned, and leave it for the classrooms, colleges and universities, or, where rugby is concerned, for the statisticians.
The only thing they will need to focus on this Saturday is that rugby results are settled by 80 minutes of action on the field. Eddie Jones is already focused on that, and that is why he is trying to put the emphasis on Scotland, saying that there are big expectations on Vern Cotter’s side going into this Calcutta Cup clash.
Jones is trying to shift the focus onto the Scots because he knows that against Italy his side had a poor first half performance, and also that they have not yet produced a powerful
display for the full 80 minutes in their previous three games in the 2017 Six Nations.
The gains Scotland have made mean they can now expect to beat any opposing team when they are at Murrayfield, and so far they have done that.
Replicating it when they travel is another matter.
Overall, the Scottish pack doesn’t smash above its bodyweight in the collisions, and that means they have to excel in other areas – and they do. The work rate of the Gray brothers, Richie and Jonny, John Barclay, Ryan Wilson and Hamish Watson has been tremendous. They are not explosive in contact, but they keep digging away and their persistence often delivers quick ball.
The good tries the Scots have scored, such as those against Wales, was when they hit up the middle with urgency before moving the ball so that chances were created out wide for a dangerous back three featuring Stuart Hogg, Tim Visser, Tommy Seymour and Sean Maitland.
England are vulnerable to that sort of attacking pattern, and with fly-half Finn Russell making big strides as a distributor, the Scots backs could be very dangerous – especially if they can get George Ford defending in the wide channels and run their big wingers at him.
Their ability to do that will depend on the Scottish forwards being able to get their arms free and slip passes to keep the tempo high in the loose, and it will also demand that newly-promoted scrum-half Ali Price gets the ball away quickly. Price’s problem is that he does not clear the ball fast enough because he often has a sniff himself, and the couple of yards or seconds it takes draws the sting out of the Scottish attack.
Ben Youngs has been guilty of doing the same, but the difference is that England have got three or four big ball carriers who can cross the gain-line even if the delivery is slow.
Scotland’s best chance of rattling England is to get quick ball, hit hard up the middle, and then look to go around the flanks. It is a high velocity game which demands great execution, but it is Scotland’s best chance because they do not have the set piece or driving maul to cause England serious problems.
The reality is that England struggle with a high pace game. That’s because both in my time as an England player, and since my time, they have rarely played at a sustained high tempo. Traditionally, England are much more comfortable playing a dictatorial type of game which has been about control and strategy. Even with the 2003 World Cup winners, if you think of Jonny Wilkinson, Will Greenwood, Josh Lewsey, Mike Tindall and Ben Cohen it was more about power than finesse – with Jason Robinson the only exception.
Eddie Jones has been trying to increase the pace at which England play, but they are struggling to play at a tempo which is close to New Zealand’s, or to how Ireland played against New Zealand in the autumn.
The pace and accuracy that New Zealand consistently demonstrate is why they are so successful – and on those rare occasions when they are beaten, such as by Ireland in Chicago in the autumn, and England at Twickenham in 2012, it is because the opposition has matched or exceeded New Zealand’s velocity.
Jones is trying to get this England squad to go through an unparalleled pain-barrier to a higher level of fitness. However, although they are performing brilliantly as a 23, and finishing teams off at the end of matches, they could do it earlier if their tempo was higher.
Getting English players to empty the tank by giving it everything from the first minute is proving difficult even for a coach of Jones’ experience. It should be much easier given that three-quarters of the forwards are on average playing only 55 minutes.
England’s form suggests that this game against the Scots ought to be very close, because they have blown nobody away. I’m waiting for this England side to explode into the game. If they can do that, they are truly the side of the future.
Sure, they have evolved, but there is a question mark over their Six Nations performances.
England should still have the edge over Scotland because of their set piece and ball carrying strengths, but I’m still waiting to see a 10-12-13 combination of Owen Farrell, Ben Te’o and Elliot Daly.
Eddie Jones must be asking himself how many games he can get his World Cup side out on the pitch for before the 2019 tournament. I believe that Te’o has every chance of going on the Lions tour, but we’ve not seen much of him as a starter, and the midfield is still a work in progress. We also haven’t seen Daly start at outside-centre, and when Jonathan Joseph has started he’s been doing more defending than attacking.
What we have seen plenty of is the 10-12 combination of Ford and Farrell, and when England get into multiphase play there is no doubt that it works. In attack they pinpoint opposition weaknesses, and in defence England get out of town effectively when they need to. However, they could finish off teams more quickly if they were more direct.
The big plus for Jones from this Six Nations is that he has developed an uber-strong England 23.
That bench is very strong compared to other nations, Scotland included. While England do not have a bevy of world-class players, their all-over strength is impressive, and their bench has consistently provided the winning touches.
Your next game is always your biggest game, and against Scotland the chance of securing a world-record equalling 18 wins makes it a bigger still.
However, I consider last year’s Grand Slam game against France in Paris, and the series-clinching second Test over Australia last summer, to be bigger. And there will be matches that are even more monumental ahead of this England side.
