The Six Nations Championship is a wonderful competition, with pretty much always an upset or two and the winner generally not known until the final round.
The competing nations are close enough to each other to make travelling to away matches well within the reach of most fans and the added intrigue of the different cultures of France and, more recently, Italy add considerable excitement.
During my five years coaching in Europe, I was able to be present at a number of these matches and I can say that they are definitely exciting and the occasion unique in my considerable rugby experience.
I am an unabashed Francophile – although their rugby performances frequently leave me totally stumped – and so I have looked forward to this opening weekend and France v England in Paris.
The match was certainly exciting with the scores so close and there were some quality moments, but some of the final statistics from the match could leave fans confused as to just how England lost. England carried the ball nearly twice as many times as France and for nearly twice the ‘yards gained’. Further, England had France under real pressure for long periods – notably, in the latter part of the first half and for long periods of the second – and, in the process, turned a 3-16 deficit into a 24-19 lead until France’s excellent late try.
How did this happen? For me, there were two significant flaws in the England performance.
1. The French scrum was clearly superior and France gained some advantage, both on the scoreboard and in territory. The ref was a bit generous to England, I thought. Cole sought refuge on the ground many more times than he was penalised and Vunipola, for the most part, still manages somehow to scrummage perpendicular to touch – as he did on the Lions tour – with little concern for the ref or his assistants.
It’s nice to see that the scrum remains such a vital part of the game.
2. The England attack wasted its huge possession advantage, by running horribly cross-field. Numerous overlaps, some considerable, were thereby wasted.
I grew up with a father (an amateur rugby league coach) who constantly preached the “run straight” dictum and this was constantly reinforced for me by an influential mentor, Cyril Towers, at Randwick rugby club and I remain passionate about this essential component of quality performance.
Readers may like to look at the various opportunities squandered by England as their ball-carrier simply showed the French defence the path to an easy ‘slide’ to contain the threat. There is a long-held axiom for defenders that “the touchline is your best defender” and this errant running consistently brought this “defender” into the game. Farrell was a consistent offender and, despite his other qualities, the England attack cannot succeed against a quality defence unless this is remedied.
I always replay such squandered opportunities and observe the point at which the offending carrier receives the ball and then the point at which he passes the ball. It is a revealing process.
If I can just throw in an add-on to my Francophile admission above. I will be hosting a river cruise in France in September this year, from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic, via Provence, Burgundy and Paris to Normandy, with an emphasis on food, wine, rugby and the culture of France. I am somewhat experienced in all of these, and would love to see like-minded people join us. Go to http://www.cruisescene.com.au/Bob_Dwyer_River_cruise.htm for more details.
