Wales will have a choice of pre-match viewing before Saturday evening’s game against England in Cardiff. If they watch only brief highlights of their opponents’ 19-16 win over France they might just be fooled: Ben Te’o’s surging late try, Elliot Daly’s all-round promise, Owen Farrell’s growing authority and an unprecedented 15 consecutive wins safely bagged.
Alternatively they can study the entire first 40 minutes again and wonder if Eddie Jones’s much-trumpeted English emperors, away from their favoured Twickenham terrain, may have an exploitable set of new clothes. The defending champions could already have been stripped of their dignity had a greatly improved French side had the energy in the final quarter to apply the coup de grace.
The possibility of a spectacular wardrobe malfunction at the Principality Stadium will hinge on whether this, ultimately, was a first-night blip or something more deep-rooted. The longer they are without the Vunipola brothers and George Kruis in the pack the more the value of the Saracens’ trio rises, while the energy and directness of James Haskell, Jamie George, Danny Care, Te’o and Jack Nowell off the bench also made a discernible difference.
There is an argument for all five starting in Cardiff, particularly if Jones concludes that, 15 wins or not, there are early amber warning lights flashing in terms of a successful title defence. Winning while playing badly is always a useful skill but when the first 20 minutes are alarmingly flat – England’s previous home game against Australia was the same – there comes a point at which the cavalry is better deployed from the start.
On the other hand, given this would necessitate sizeable adjustments – a new captain, new half-backs and a reshuffled midfield – with scant training time available, Jones is more likely to go the other way and save his experimenting for the subsequent Italy fixture at home. One or two individuals will be required, nevertheless, to make a rapid case for staying aboard the gravy train or make way for someone else. “At half-time we weren’t even panting; it wasn’t like we had played a game of rugby,” muttered Jones. “Every player needs to be looked at because we didn’t play well enough. The coaching staff needs to be looked at; I need to be looked at.”
Clearly all is not gloom and doom. A few England coaches of recent vintage would kill for Jones’s record and Dylan Hartley, Joe Marler, Haskell et al will be better for this run-out after lengthy lay-offs. Maro Itoje, too, was starting his first Test in the back row and ran the lineout for the first time. Jones, either way, sounded like a Dick Emery character – “Ooh, you are awful but I like you” – as he picked over the carcass of England’s ninth victory over France in their past 11 championship meetings. “We couldn’t conceivably play worse than that,” he suggested.
“Our forwards were not great in attack, our defence was too tight. Those are areas we clearly need to work on.” Might a few promotions from the bench help? “We are always looking to change and improve the team,” came the measured reply. “The great thing about rugby is it is a human sport. You put 15 guys out there and you don’t know how they are going to react on the day. We were just off the pace for some reason.”
Comparisons between the English back row and the France trio inspired by Louis Picamoles were certainly unflattering, with Scott Spedding also outstanding for Les Bleus at full-back and the half-back pairing of Baptiste Serin and Camille Lopez displaying more assurance than their opposite numbers. The obvious ploy of sending big runners straight at the diminutive George Ford yielded frequent dividends and, had they taken all their chances, the visitors would have been ahead at half-time rather than merely level at 9-9.
The Rugby Football Union’s nice interval tribute to George Michael was appropriate on two fronts: in addition to a careless home team there was barely a whisper from English supporters when France went back in front on the hour. Any beret-throwing in celebration of Rabah Slimani’s try, however, was to prove premature, as England’s bench made their presence felt and Te’o’s finish added a dash of much-needed Worcester sauce to his side’s recovery cure.
The 30-year-old Te’o has had to be patient since his cross-code move from South Sydney rugby league but may just prove a more successful acquisition for English union than his higher-profile former team-mate Sam Burgess. If he ever did form a 10-12 starting axis with Farrell, few would fancy running down that channel and his strength in taking the ball to the line also causes problems. It was Ford, who declined to confirm or deny reports he will return to Leicester from Bath this summer, who identified this as one of England’s current issues. “In attack we need to get more momentum and that comes from our breakdown stuff and being over the gain-line with our carries. In international rugby as soon as you get quick ball it’s extremely difficult to defend so that will be our focus this week.”
While promoting Nowell for Jonny May, with Daly on the left wing, may be one short-term tweak for the Wales game, England do have a possible lucky omen on their side. All four of their remaining games will be refereed by French officials, none of whom have ever presided over an England Six Nations defeat. If that sequence remains intact, this below-par aperitif will soon be forgotten.
