ENGLAND
W 37-21 v South Africa, W 58-15 v Fiji, W 27-14 v Argentina, W 37-21 v Australia
Eddie Jones said before becoming England coach that the job required someone of experience who would not succumb to pressure and be blown off course by the media. Little more than a year on and he has again shown that he masters the press.
Every scrap he throws out is ravenously devoured, allowing him to set the agenda. It is easier when you are winning and England have rolled on this series; not without the occasional jolt, but for a team Jones does not expect to be at their peak until 2019, the family saloon has been upgraded for a more robust 4x4 with a turbo on order.
He is making optimum use of the considerable resources available to him: he started the series without George Kruis, Maro Itoje, James Haskell, Anthony Watson and Jack Nowell and finished it without Joe Launchbury, Elliot Daly and one of his key figures, Billy Vunipola.
England’s ambition has grown since the Six Nations: they did not concede a try in three of the five matches on their way to the grand slam, but have not kept their line intact since.
As their average of tries conceded has grown from 0.8 to 2.5 per game, so they are scoring more than four compared to fewer than three. The choice of Mako Vunipola ahead of Joe Marler at prop is an indicator of the more dynamic approach while behind, George Ford and Owen Farrell are exploiting England’s ability to recycle the ball quickly. Where England score over the other three home unions is depth: injuries and suspensions have not slowed them down.
IRELAND
W 40-29 v New Zealand (Chicago), W 52-21 v Canada, L 9-21 v New Zealand, W 27-24 v Australia
Joe Schmidt’s team looked vulnerable at the end of February, failing to win their opening three Six Nations matches after a heavy defeat to Argentina in the quarter-final of the World Cup. Since then, they have beaten South Africa, Australia and – yes –New Zealand and climbed into the top four of the world rankings.
They are not be blessed with England’s resources, but Ireland defeated the Wallabies without Jonathan Sexton and Robbie Henshaw and losing three of their backs before half-time. From a team who regularly applied the handbrake, Ireland are now less risk averse: they made nine offloads last Saturday and against New Zealand two weeks earlier. That compares to a total of five in the opening three rounds of this year’s Six Nations.
The hangover of losing the totemic figures of Brian O’Driscoll and Paul O’Connell has been shaken off, with Tadhg Furlong and Garry Ringrose emerging. Schmidt, after signing a new contract until the end of the 2019 World Cup, is proving again to be an astute coach.
Ireland won the Six Nations in his first two years but, unlike his compatriot Warren Gatland, also enjoyed success against the major southern hemisphere nations, even before the Chicago victory over the All Blacks. Next year’s Six Nations climaxes with Ireland facing England in Dublin. On the evidence of the past month, it may not be only the title that is at stake. Would Jones get a rise out of the most inscrutable of rivals?
SCOTLAND
L 22-23 v Australia, W 19-16 v Argentina, W 43-16 v Georgia
Scotland have in recent years tended to perform better in November than in the Six Nations. Only a late try by Australia prevented a hat-trick of victories during a month when they were less reliant on the boot of Greig Laidlaw.
The Wallabies were outscored on tries and they matched Argentina’s one while the victory over Georgia meant Scotland will finish the year seventh in the world rankings, their highest position for five years.
A strong Six Nations would take them above South Africa, but their record in the tournament in the past 10 years is dire. Ten matches have been won in that time and there have been bottom-two finishes in all but two years. The Scots have not won their opening game since 2006 and while they will have home advantage, Ireland are first up. A year ago they welcomed an England team under new management fired up by a hard-luck story at the end of the World Cup quarter-final against Australia, but never threatened to match the passion of the Murrayfield crowd and lost tamely.
They suggest solidity in Vern Cotter’s final season as coach before being succeeded by Gregor Townsend and have form players in key positions: Stuart Hogg at full-back, Finn Russell and Laidlaw at half-back, the Gray brothers in the second row and Ryan Wilson at No8. Some established players were absent last month, including WP Nel and Duncan Taylor, while Matt Scott was left out of the squad and Tim Visser finished the series back at Harlequins.
Scotland have been down for too long to succumb to a sunburst of optimism, but opportunity is knocking – rather than critics.
WALES
L 8-32 v Australia, W 24-20 v Argentina, W 33-30 v Japan, W 27-13 v South Africa
A return of three victories in four matches, never mind the opening game capitulation to Australia, would ordinarily lead to predictions in Wales of grand slam success as a prelude to world domination. But how green are the valleys with envy at the exploits of England and Ireland.
Laboured victories over Argentina and South Africa, with a fortunate escape against Japan in between, befogged the gloom rather than lifted it. The more Wales tried to open up and play, the more discomfited they looked.
What used to come naturally to players in a country where rugby union was a bedrock of communities – wit and guile – has been replaced by manufactured qualities. Paint by numbers rather than a broad-brush approach, and while the interim coach, Rob Howley, has come under fire, it is not so much Wales’s gameplan that has been at fault as its execution.
There is a case that Wales should have brought in a fresh and experienced new voice after the World Cup, but they are paying now for a lack of investment and guidance at the lower levels of the game where bulking up has taken precedence over skills.
In Wales, the focus was for too long at the top and the bottom is starting to crumble. First up in the Six Nations is in Italy, not the most propitious time to visit Rome, and their other away games, Scotland and France, look problematic. Wales need their big players to join Alun Wyn Jones on his feet and start earning their central contracts.
