The decision to start with Owen Farrell and bring on George Ford at an unusually early time was a key to England’s victory. But was that just a brilliant ‘tactical decision’? Or was Eddie Jones tipped off?
The hook
Last week, I said that if I was picking the England team, I would start with Farrell at 10 and bring on Ford with 30 minutes to go.
I got the first part right. Farrell’s stronger defence was always going to be needed to sure up the number one channel, and that he did.
Eddie loves cricket analogies and I reckon Farrell was slotted in to 10 so he could ‘take the shine off the new ball’ for Ford to bat at three.
But the decision to hook Luther Burrell after 28 minutes and bring Ford on so early in the match? I never saw that coming.
For a centre to be substituted before half time is almost taboo. Coaches usually wait until the second period to do this, to save the player embarrassment.
While Eddie has confirmed it was a ‘tactical decision’, it was also a ‘one in every ten year’ like decision and this got me thinking.
Was Burrell selected mainly to nullify the two Fijian Aussie centres in the opening encounters? If that’s the case, then did Eddie know who Cheika was going to select? And how did he know that? Did someone leak it to him?
It could have been a coincidence. Or it could have been a crafty plan from a clever coach…only the coaches will know.
The no try
Regardless of what Eddie may or may not have known about the Wallaby starting line-up, that point in the game, the 28 minute mark, was a key turning point in the match for sure.
The hook kick-started an England comeback that ultimately lead them to victory. George Ford played his usually expansive game and combined really well with Watson and Co out wide.
But the ‘no-try’ decision. That proved really costly for the Wallabies.
From the side-on camera angle, I reckon it was pretty clear that Burrell ran into Rory Arnold, not the other way around. That seven points would have broken England’s back. No test team apart from New Zealand could go down by three tries and win a test.
The other turning point
The other turning point in the match was at the 50 minute mark. The Wallabies had a chance to kick three points or kick to the corner.
They went to the corner and ran a four-man ‘lineout-sneak’ play that was a dud. I thought that was time for the Wallabies to ram a drive or peel down England’s throat and prove to them they have an ‘all court’ game.
Running that play on England’s try line gave the signal the Aussie pack didn’t want to stand toe-to-toe with the Poms. It looked that way at the scrum too, which is a huge surprise because, under Ladesma, the Wallaby pack has had a tough mentality.
Wallabies need balance
Clearly Australia want to continue playing an up tempo game. But they need to have balance and that means having a driving game, as well as a running game.
Driving commits the England back row and gives the talented Aussie backs more room for strike plays. That red-zone play at 50 minutes was a disaster and fueled England’s belief at a crucial stage of the match.
Looking ahead
Putting injury replacements aside, I think the big selection decision for both coaches is who they want at 12 and when they want them.
Eddie has the option of going with Teo/Burrell to start with before injecting Ford into the game. Cheika has to decide on Samu Karevi or Christian Lealiifano. I think he’ll go with the 2nd ball player.
The Wallabies have to muscle up in the pack, Kepu has got to start and Sio has to find a way to deal with Cole. Cole is able to scrum from low to lower and Sio has to consult with Mario to negate that.
Prediction
It’s game on now.
England looked to have benefited a lot from having a warm-up match against Wales. While the Wallabies will now have their opportunity to iron out the creases and sort out a few very sortable things.
I expect to see the fighting spirit of Cheika’s Wallabies shine bright in Game 2 in Melbourne.
