In the end the win was the bottom line as it had to be once an England coach had rounded off a fortnight’s preparations by telling the world “the tournament starts here”. No ifs or buts. After Paris a fortnight ago Graham Rowntree, the forwards coach, needed a performance from his players.
Will he be satisfied? Absolutely. The lineout was a massive improvement over that night at the Stade de France, but there are questions still to be answered of a scrum who lost two against the head. That doesn’t happen in world rugby. Especially not to England, who take pride in that line of work.
First the good things. Mike Brown, missing when England underwent an aerial bombardment in Dublin last Six Nations, was solid either chasing or catching the high ball. Elsewhere in the back three Jonny May showed once again that real speed embarrasses in all sports, while Anthony Watson continues to look a class act in the making.
The midfield was both solid (Brad Barritt) and industrious (Jonathan Joseph) while Ben Youngs, behind a superior pack, was world class setting a high early tempo and, as a result, George Ford looked more assured from the first minute to when he was replaced by Owen Farrell. Against that, if Stuart Lancaster goes withSaturday’s line-up in the World Cup, then Ford is the only kicking option. In fact everything goes through him and better sides – as Wales did to Johnny Sexton in Cardiff – will seize on that predictability.
But this match was all about the forwards and the business of making amends for coming off second best in the previous two games against France. They came fired up, kept it simple and were confident.
The lineout looked a calmer place for Geoff Parling being there and once England had won the first three or four throws, Ireland weren’t sure where to go. You get the feeling that if he wasn’t playing, England would need Parling, the architect, on the coaches’ bench.
Oddly though, when it was best executed, for the Watson try, the self-confessed “lineout nerd” was off the field having a head wound staunched. In his absence, Tom Youngs’ throw (during something of a purple patch for the Leicester hooker) found Courtney Lawes, the extra weight of Joe Launchbury, on for Parling, helped with the drive and an extra second or two was created for Ford to execute a precise cross-kick. The Bath wing rose well above Simon Zebo and then flopped over the line.
Actually it was something of a purple patch for England all round. They could have been out of sight by half-time, the only downside being a forward pass from Tom Youngs which undermined a second “try” for May and the continuing pressure on the England scrum. Whereas Ireland were most rock solid, the England front row was porous and I suspect that over the next couple of months there will be conversations about Youngs the scrummager. He’s technically good but …
Jamie George seems to have become the No 2. Could he be the main man before all is done?
Against that, the extra line speed of the England defence forced Irish errors and at the heart of that effort were Chris Robshaw and Tom Wood, two flankers who can look second best when the ball is on the ground, but whose athleticism gives them an edge when the ball carrier is stopped and stripped. In fact, the stats rated them first and second among tacklers, while Wood was also a handy outlet in the lineout.
Add the fact that Ben Morgan got another 56 minutes game time and is starting to punch holes and get over the gain line, that the Vunipola brothers bring impact off the bench and England are building a balance to their 80-minute game. They know they are not New Zealand and are better for it.
As for Ireland, they have issues, but time is on Joe Schmidt’s side. The coach won’t be happy with the form of Tommy Bowe – no doubt England targeted his side and Dave Kearney is pushing hard – but if Sexton looks a little rusty and needing game time, then that’s OK at this point. Whereas England’s examination starts straight away with the Fiji game before Wales and then Australia, Ireland have Canada, Romania and Italy to sharpen up before the crunch against France that could decided whether these two meet again in a quarter-finals.
