Don’t panic
OK, so it looks bad. Seven European defeats for England’s seven Champions Cup representatives was their worst return in European history. Given four of the games were at home, it bodes ill for the reverse fixtures this weekend. Fair play to their Pro14 and Top 14 rivals but hang on; are we saying Bath have no chance at home to Toulon, that Leicester are doomed when they entertain Munster at Welford Road and that La Rochelle are guaranteed to win at Wasps? All are potentially competitive fixtures, all could still go either way. Even if three away wins materialise, there are two more rounds of pool games to come. Admittedly an away draw in the last eight is less than ideal but European fates are not solely determined in round three.
Get the best players on the pitch
Obvious, perhaps, but it helps big time in Europe. Would Saracens have been cut to shreds had Maro Itoje, Billy Vunipola, Schalk Brits, Juan Figallo, Michael Rhodes, Duncan Taylor and Liam Williams been available for selection and Brad Barritt not departed prematurely? Admittedly Clermont have their own crisis at fly-half but in Alivereti Raki and Wesley Fofana they have two of the most dangerous backs anywhere on the continent. Leinster had all their key Lions on deck at Exeter, while the collective strength of La Rochelle’s squad is increasingly apparent. A Leicester XV containing both Manu Tuilagi and Matt Toomua on Sunday with the newly arrived Tatafu Polota-Nau also on the bench will be a different kind of beast at Welford Road. Wasps, similarly, will gleefully welcome back No8 Nathan Hughes but Bath must soldier on without the great Taulupe Faletau for the forseeable future.
Learn from history
If a team win the first “leg” of back-to-back pool fixtures in Europe, it is no guarantee they will do so the following week. Last season, of the 10 teams who won in round three, only four managed to complete the double. Exeter, as now, lost at home to Bordeaux only to go away and score their first win on French soil the following week. Only Northampton, well beaten at home by Leinster, also took a serious hiding in the reverse fixture, going down 60-13. Remember 2015-16 when Wasps were beaten 25-23 at home by Bath only to go down to the Recreation Ground and win 36-10. That same season Exeter beat Clermont 31-14 at home before being thumped 42-10 in the Massif Central a few days later. Both Wasps and Exeter still reached the last eight despite their variable December form.
Get real
Northampton and Harlequins are both toiling in the bottom half of the Premiership and were never going to be European title contenders this year with the latter crushed 52-24 in Ulster last night. Leicester remain a squad in a transitional phase, Bath continue to blow strangely hot and cold and Wasps are still getting over the loss of the outstanding Kurtley Beale. In terms of realistic English threats this season, Exeter and Saracens, the Premiership’s top two sides, were always going to be the best prepared. Yet both were drawn in ferociously tough pools and paid the price for underperforming fractionally against top quality opposition. Does that instantly make them poor teams? Only in the eyes of those who watch them infrequently. Exeter, in particular, will be tactically cuter in Dublin and tend to thrive when there is little expectation. It will be no surprise if their rematch with Leinster proves an absolute thriller.
Think like Eddie Jones
It is a fact of life that relatively few England players have skipped back to their clubs after an intense month on the training ground under Eddie Jones’s watchful eye. Those who have not been injured and are operating at the top of their form can be counted on the fingers of one hand. Their club coaches have a choice: leave them out, put an arm around their shoulders or bluntly tell them to front up and show they justify future inclusion. There was a sense of some teams slightly tiptoeing into battle last weekend, not least Saracens who responded rather less positively to the rescheduling of their delayed game with Clermont than their opponents. A clear-the-air meeting followed and some home truths have been articulated. If Jones was in charge the equation would be ruthlessly simple: give me the most ferocious 80 minutes you can or else I pick someone else. Last week’s frustrations could yet supply crucial extra motivation.
Dangle a carrot
For a clutch of individuals this is a pivotal weekend in terms of their international prospects. Jones and Steve Borthwick will be at Bath’s game against Toulon, which makes it a massive 80 minutes for Tom Dunn, Beno Obano and Charlie Ewels, all young English forwards with Test ambitions. Henry Slade, Luke Cowan-Dickie and Jack Nowell will be similarly motivated for Exeter in Dublin. Jones has specifically said he wants all his England squad to make a strong impression either side of Christmas in advance of the Six Nations, although Dylan Hartley and Sam Underhill are both unavailable this weekend. Jones and Borthwick will also attend Wasps v La Rochelle on Sunday, a detail which will not escape the attention of James Haskell, Elliot Daly, Joe Launchbury, Nathan Hughes, Dan Robson or Danny Cipriani.
Be smarter
Tactically there has been some average stuff floating around. Play it fast and loose away in La Rochelle? Ruinous. Miss tackles and allow Clermont to surge repeatedly over the gainline? Ditto. It is easier said than done but England’s leading representatives need to park their customary Premiership mindsets and think a little differently. Exeter, in particular, need to locate slightly more variety and kick better against Leinster; the Chiefs will be keen to demonstrate there is more to them than a decent rolling maul, positive intent and decent hands. Saracens, among other things, need to find ways of pressurising the Clermont half-backs and disrupting the French side’s momentum, as well as tightening their previously exemplary defence. All concerned also have to make more of an impact at the breakdown, where several English back-row units were second best last weekend. Improve there and it is not inconceivable three or four of the previous week’s outcomes could be reversed.
