Jeremy Guscott: Forget the chess game let’s go for check mate
Three games isn’t really enough to get stuck into, and there’s little time to prepare for the two games against Argentina. There’s also always big pressure to win the internationals, which means less opportunity to experiment.
Ideally, the management would want to chop and change, look at different combinations – but you have to give Argentina the right respect. They’re ranked eighth in the world and gave a very good account of themselves during the Rugby Championship last season. They also gave Wales a good hiding 26-12 at the Millennium only last November.
I’m particularly interested to see some of the exciting backs Stuart Lancaster has picked to tour. Kyle Eastmond, Joel Tomkins and Marland Yarde all have a chance to impress with good performances. These young guys’ skill sets are as good as a lot of seasoned internationals, they’re just a bit rough around the edges.
This is the category Jonny May falls into, and so does Christian Wade. They’re both very elusive, can beat players easily and score tries when the opportunity presents itself. They just lack the finesse of a real quality player.
You can see quality in a player just by the way they carry themselves. It’s a confidence backed up by what they can do.
Not an arrogance, but being self-assured. A player like Owen Farrell has it, although sometimes it spills over to being a little silly by giving away unnecessary penalties.
This tour should see Billy Twelvetrees take a step further to becoming the big- time player he can be. It’s difficult for a new guy to come straight in and make himself heard. No matter what managers say, there’s a natural order within squads.
It’s up to the boss to make sure that natural order is a welcoming culture. It takes time to develop. Lancaster could well have that in his squad, but you don’t always see it from the outside. Often the desire from players to make their mark becomes a willingness to do what they believe the coaches want. It should be coaches accommodating players.
For instance, you can tell by the way Twelvetrees plays that he’s more in tune with attacking, making breaks and scoring tries. He and and Freddie Burns have a natural understanding from playing club rugby together at Gloucester, so why not let them look at possible moves and
strategy with Mike Catt and Stuart Lancaster? Give these guys some empowerment, make them responsible.
I’ve watched Eastmond up close and for a man his size he plays much bigger. He’s an intuitive attacker which is a rare breed these days in English professional rugby. I would be very interested to hear his views on how to attack various teams in certain positions, because the way Rugby League teams target players in a defensive line can be adapted and used in Union.
Tomkins will really enjoy the freedom of playing away from the Sarries set-up. He has a good all round skill-set that should be explored, and the players and coaches in the squad could learn so much from him and Eastmond because of their understanding of broken field running.
The knack for the coaches going to Argentina is not to rein-in these young inexperienced players but to release them, and really allow them to play a game they feel is right. Let them learn by making the mistakes themselves – it’s the best way to learn.
How refreshing it would be after a game if Lancaster could be talking about how these lads really had a rip at it. I’m not talking willy-nilly rugby, throw the ball about, run from anywhere all the time.
But these guys have the skills to play a high tempo game, and that’s exciting. Drive the pace of the game. Don’t be dictated to. You can still play fast rugby without the ball, pressurising the opposition attack with good hard defence.
The likes of Eastmond and Tomkins know all about that kind of defence from their Rugby League days.
I’m convinced that if you asked all those backs selected, especially with Burns at 10, how they want to play it would be a mixture of the attacking Quins and Gloucester style with the efficient defence of Sarries – plus a twist of running turn-over ball rather than kicking it away.
These backs will be well supported by the likes of Ben Morgan, Billy Vunipola, Matt Kvesic, Joe Marler, Joe Launchbury and Rob Webber, all of whom like to have a good gallop.
It’s not wishful thinking to believe this squad can play the game I’ve outlined. You simply need the right mind-set to produce it. These guys have it already, so it just needs setting free at this level.
It won’t be easy, even if Argentina are not full-strength. However, all I’m talking about is not going there with the whole boring territory chess game. At times it works, but against good teams you must have the attitude of scoring three tries per game. Score those and you must be in with a good chance of winning.
There’s plenty of physicality in the squad. All the forwards picked like to do the hard yards that the Premiership demands week in week out, but let them enjoy some space. Yes, work hard to earn the right, but I’ve seen these big fellas enjoy a good run. There’s few better sights in rugby than David Wilson rampaging with ball in hand knocking people over like a wild Rhinoceros.
These players do enjoy the set piece but they have to be developed into more than just scrummagers and lineout players. A forward seeing an overlap and making the most of it would be a bigger thrill than doing what’s expected in the set piece. Not getting isolated with another prop alongside you in defence so the opposition can pick you out would be a learning experience not to be forgotten.
It’s only two more full seasons until the World Cup. These guys are more than capable of making it into the team, but they have to be given the chance to flourish and not programmed to play a certain way.
