France’s old home at the Parc des Princes, that concrete bowl on the Périphérique, used to be noisy – very noisy considering a capacity of less than 50,000. Some of the South Africa grounds, especially Ellis Park in Johannesburg, can be pretty raw when it comes to patriotism. But the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff is out on its own.
Big players say they grow as the emotion rolls down out of the stands. But lesser men have been known to crumble. All the more reason, then, for Stuart Lancaster to turn up the music at England’s Surrey headquarters and tell Wales he wants the Millennium roof open when the Six Nations kicks off on Friday, and why he has added a few older heads to his matchday 23.
Will it be enough that the England head coach knows why his side got burned the last time they visited Cardiff? Not if they go off script. And not if, but when things start to go wrong, they repeat the errors of 2013. To understand what England have to do, it is best to understand what they got wrong the last time they crossed the Severn bridge.
First and foremost, England went into that game believing a grand slam was theirs for the taking. And not without reason. From up close I know they did a decent job on Scotland at the start of that Six Nations, whereas Wales had to dig deeper when they came to Murrayfield.
However, the signs were there had England looked carefully, especially in the scrum which was to become the start of their undoing and the breakdown, where they were totally undermined. In a game in which Craig Joubert ordered a record number of kicks at goal but took until the final minute to produce the only yellow card, the Wales front row produced a masterclass of early hits and soft hits against the Scots, while Sam Warburton was responsible for the lion’s share of nine turnovers.
And so it was to be at Cardiff a week later when England got on the wrong side of Steve Walsh and then kept digging once they were in a hole, which can happen at Cardiff if Wales get on top and 72,500 give voice to their passions. England, barring their captain, Chris Robshaw, were beaten up and went down to a record defeat.
So what is to stop history repeating itself? After all we are only seven months from a World Cup in which Wales and England find themselves in the same pool as Australia, with only two going through to the knockout stages. Defeat for England then could have almost unimaginable consequences for the tournament, so the pressure builds for Friday as well.
As much as coaches will say that Twickenham on 26 September is another day, it matters. The key for England is not to make this game merely a stop on that journey. If the prospect of a grand slam allowed their minds to wander in 2013, then focus has to be complete this time and, for as long as it takes, they have to stick by their gameplan.
If Warren Gatland says England will kick the leather off the ball, then he is probably right and merely attempting to niggle them into going off script. It is what Wales do not want but only if England do it well. So there is huge pressure on the main kickers, George Ford and Ben Youngs.
Kick badly and George North, Leigh Halfpenny and Alex Cuthbert will run the ball back all night, England will be forced into a fluid game of contact and breakdown – along with smothering defence, Welsh strengths – and the volume will be ramped up to decibel levels unimaginable to those England players who have never played at the Millennium – and about half have not – even if a thousand speakers blaring hymns and arias were imported into Pennyhill Park.
When it happened in 2013, England tried to play their way out of trouble and it got worse. On Friday Ford and Youngs cannot give any presents. Kicks from inside England’s 22-metre line have to go out and well out because it is a long time since the Welsh lineout was a weapon. In fact they have learned to live without one (word is that it is an area of play to which precious little time is devoted), preferring to keep the ball in play. The argument goes that this is the way they make better fitness levels pay, although I doubt there is much between the sides in that respect.
From outside the safety of the 22, Ford tends to favour the crossfield kick but that has risks, inviting the openside wing on to a poor kick and in bags of space. Better go downfield where the risk is lower and that applies to the scrum-half’s box‑kicking as well.
In the autumn poor box‑kicking cost Danny Care his place (following a horses for courses argument, I would have preferred Richard Wigglesworth for Cardiff) and Youngs has to keep his kicks out of that 15-metre deep strip across the pitch which Halfpenny will patrol.
The ball has to be high enough and short enough for England’s chasers to nail the full-back or deep enough to make him turn and kick again. That way England get to start again and play the game at their pace. Negative? I do not think so. There is nothing more negative than losing.
