1 Under starter’s orders
Stuart Lancaster’s plans for the opening World Cup match against Fiji were thrown into confusion after last month’s defeat in Paris, where problems at the scrum, lineout and the breakdown forced him to assess his options against Ireland. Geoff Parling’s return to lead the lineout helped England to a 100% return from 14 throws and the second row stole an Irish lineout five metres from his line in the first-half. The scrum remained an issue, with England manoeuvred off the ball twice on their own feed, while by keeping the ball in hand rather than going to ground constantly, they minimised the risk of being blown in the tackle area, although it remains an area of concern: Ireland’s second penalty came after Brad Barritt was on the ground and the support was slow in arriving. Elsewhere, Ben Youngs, Mike Brown and Jonathan Joseph made up for France, and Tom Wood was rampant in the back row. The main question is at No8 where Ben Morgan, in his second match after returning from a broken leg, looked sharper than his replacement, Billy Vunipola.
2 May flowering
England’s five tries in their two warm-up matches at Twickenham were scored by the wings Jonny May and Anthony Watson, taking their combined tally to eight in seven Tests together. Rugby union may have changed significantly in the professional era with players bigger and stronger than before, but the capacity for pace to unnerve defenders has not changed. The ability of May and Watson to get quickly into their strides from standing starts and leave opponents marooned with the quickness of their feet marks them out. Less than two years ago, England’s three-quarter line against the All Blacks was Chris Ashton, Joel Tomkins, Billy Twelvetrees and Ben Foden. The midfield may still be in the process of settling down, but out wide it is no longer a case of a wing and a prayer.
3 Six appeal
Tom Wood has in the past been criticised for not involving himself in all aspects of the game, ball-carrying in particular. Preferred to James Haskell against Ireland not least because of the option he provides in the lineout, the Northampton flanker was named man of the match for his all-round performance: as well as winning five lineouts and forcing two turnovers, he carried the ball for 30 metres, more than any other forward, and more than the two No8s, Morgan and Vunipola, combined. He also made 17 tackles, a figure bettered only by Chris Robshaw. Wood may be less demonstrative than Haskell but he provides more balance to the back row.
4 Home comforts
England go into the World Cup they are hosting having won their last seven matches at Twickenham. Four teams have won at the ground in the Stuart Lancaster era, New Zealand and South Africa twice while group rivals Australia and Wales triumphed there in 2012. All the defeats have been by single-figure margins, from the eight the All Blacks won by in 2013 to the one the Springboks prevailed by in 2012, when Robshaw was criticised for using a late penalty to kick for goal rather than a lineout and a potential match-winning try. England need home advantage to make up for a relative lack of experience, although Wales have been hit by injuries. Under Lancaster, the atmosphere at Twickenham has developed to the point where some former Welsh internationals compare it to that at the Millennium Stadium.
5 Smoking Joe
Ireland have developed a reputation under their head coach, Joe Schmidt, for clarity of thought, but after beating Wales comfortably at the beginning of last month, their performances against Scotland, Wales again and England have been muddled. Ten points down against Wales the previous week which prompted Schmidt to rip into his players afterwards, they were nine behind against England after 13 minutes, their first-up tackling unbecoming of champions. Tommy Bowe, playing in his second warm-up match, looked as if he had returned from a long lay-off, missing four of the six tackles he attempted, including one on May in the buildup to England’s opening try. Ireland, unlike England, do not need to hit the ground running in the World Cup, playing Canada first in a group that looks like being a shootout with their final group opponents, France, but they looked off the pace from the start. They still put themselves in a position in the second-half to win the match without ever looking like taking it, and from looking a few months ago to be Europe’s biggest threat, finishing top of their group looks anything like a given.
