Autumn test review – Northern Hemisphere Teams

   Here is a review of the performances of England, France and Scotland.

   by “Bardon”

England

Results

England started off their campaign with a narrow 21-24 defeat to New Zealand having led at half-time. A late penalty try to England put a bit of gloss on the final result as New Zealand dominated the second half. England played the All Blacks four times in 2014 and lost them all.

Next up were South Africa and another narrow defeat for England, 28-31 this time. This time England had to come from behind in the second half but once they got back level the Boks pulled away again. This was a sixth straight defeat for England and the press were reading their knives for Lancaster.

 Chris Robshaw – England v. Samoa – a scrappy affair

Lancaster made changes for the visit of Samoa. It was a scrappy affair against a team in disarray but this was never about the performance. England needed a win and they got it, 28-9 the final score.

Last up for England was Australia. Neither team had a great November with both looking to end on a high. England played a ten-man game and scrummed the Aussies off the park winning 27-16.

Strengths

England’s set piece is a major strength. The penalty try against New Zealand and the scrum performance against Australia highlighted the fact that England’s scrum is a real weapon.

The lineout went really well with both Lawes and Attwood providing quality ball while disrupting the opposition ball.

They also got plenty of change from their maul making plenty of metres and setting up tries.

Overall England’s forward pack is a real strength. Beyond their ten-man game there are few positives but Jonny May has established himself as a quality test winger if they can get him the ball in space.

 England lineout – went really well

Weaknesses

England didn’t look like a threat with ball in hand. Changes in the halves failed to get their backline firing. When they did cause the opposition problems it was through the individual talent of players like May rather than their attacking patterns.

A lack of settled combinations is a real worry for the English. They still haven’t found a centre pairing that demands selection and they face similar issues in the back row where candidates don’t seem to be able to string more than a couple of good performances together before the inevitable call for them to be replaced.

Their defensive frailties were exposed by all three southern hemisphere giants and this is an area they’ll look to improve upon. A more settled team might help in this area.

George Ford – adventurous flyhalf

The Players

Flyhalf has been a major problem area for England. Farrell is dependable but doesn’t seem to be able to get the backline firing. Ford is more adventurous but still there was little improvement in the two tests he started. His lower kicking percentage will see calls for Farrell’s return if he doesn’t deliver in the Six Nations.

Scrumhalf has also been an issue this series. Care’s kicking and distribution were poor resulting in him being dropped. Youngs was an improvement but didn’t do enough to be nailed on. Expect this one to be contested right up to the RWC with no real standout.

England have plenty of candidates to choose from in the centre but they can’t find a settled pairing. Add in Farrell but shifted to 12 to shoe-horn him into the team and Lancaster could still be looking for the solution in the RWC pool games.

Team rating:   B-

Best Players: 1. Courtney Lawes, 2. Chris Robshaw, 3. Jonny May

Winger Jonny May – one of England’s best

Going forward

In Six Nations England will face tough away days in Cardiff and Dublin, while France are always competitive at Twickenham. A win first-up against the Welsh could seem them build momentum with Italy to follow. Three to four wins would be a good performance given this year’s fixtures. Anything less and the knives will be back out.

In the RWC their first priority will be to get out of the pool of death. If they manage that home advantage could take them all the way to the final. A semi-final berth is probably the minimum pass mark in a home RWC but even that may not be enough to save Lancaster’s job.

Benjamin Kayser – France v. Australia

France

Results

First up for France was a five-try, 40-15, demolition of Fiji. A comfortable start to their campaign and a chance to put a poor June tour behind them.

They followed up with a narrow 29-26 win against Australia withstanding a Wallaby comeback in the process. The ghosts of June exorcised and France on an upward trend.

Last up for France were possible RWC quarter-final opponents Argentina. They came crashing back down to earth when a lacklustre display led to a 13-18 defeat.

 Teddy Thomas – a great find this year

Strengths

French flair was back with a bang in this series. When it comes to a running game the French have an embarrassment of riches and they uncovered another diamond in Teddy Thomas on the wing.

France have always been able to take advantage when the game becomes loose but now they seem to have solved their long standing fly-half problems and with competition at 9 they have some structure and direction to go with their broken field threat.

Weaknesses

France lack the killer instinct to put teams to the sword. During purple patches they score points almost at will but then they take their foot off the gas and allow the opposition back into the game. This leaves them hanging on in games that could have been comfortable victories if they maintained their intensity.

Together with switching off during games they also still struggle with performing consistently from game to game. Rather than reflecting on an excellent series of victories their performance dipped against Argentina and they finished on a sour note. They need to either become more consistent or find a way to win when not at the top of their game.

They struggled against Argentina’s aggressive defence and turnovers cost them hard-won yards as their own defensive frailties were exploited to the full. Errors at vital moments cost them momentum as they tried to work their way back into the game.

 Wesley Fofana – needs a good partner

The Players

France has struggled to find a partner for the outstanding Wesley Fofana in the centres. The jury is still out on Dumoulin and Bastareaud’s current physique would be better suited to the front row and he’s clearly not fit enough to last 80 minutes.

Teddy Thomas had a fine couple of games, scoring fourtries, and should be a positive for the French. Missing training and subsequently being dropped for the Argentina game has blotted his copybook.

One of the biggest issues France face is Saint-Andre himself. His inability to settle on a first XV, coupled with his conservative game plan, has made him an unpopular figure.

Team rating:  C

Best Players  1.Thierry Dusautoir, 2. Camille Lopez, 3. Teddy Thomas

 Thierry Dusautoir – France skipper and one of their best

Going forward

First up for France in Six Nations is a home tie with Scotland that looks more difficult now than it did just a month ago. After that they travel to Ireland who they have a very good record against. With Wales their only other home game it’ll be a tough ask for them to have a tilt at the title. Two or three wins would be a reasonable return for them. If they’re not in contention for the title themselves they’ll still enjoy the chance to be party-poopers in the final game at Twickenham.

RWC pool D should be a straight shootout between themselves and Ireland. Italy could be a banana skin especially if they catch them cold in the first game. Realistically I’d expect France to have enough to emerge from this pool. With either New Zealand or Argentina waiting in the quarter-final, that might be as far as they go.

France 2011 RWC final – they may not make it that far in 2015

Scotland

Results

Scotland’s first game was also their most impressive performance beating Argentina 41-31. With the Argentines on a high from their first Rugby Championship victory against Australia the result was even more impressive.

On the face of it the 16-24 defeat to a misfiring second-string All Black side was a poor result and a missed opportunity. However with this only the second game in charge for new coach Vern Cotter the performance was more important than the result and Scotland took a lot of positives from this one.

They closed their campaign with a routine 37-12 victory over Tonga. They made hard work of it in the first half before coming through to win, scoring five tries for the second time in three games.

Scotland lineout – is strong this season

Strengths

Scotland’s lineout looks to be on the up with the Gray brothers’ second row combination complimented by jumping options from the back row. Ford’s accurate throwing and good calling from Jonny Gray makes this an area Scotland can develop into a real asset.

The appointment of Vern Cotter has been a real plus for Scottish rugby. After many years of little progress punctuated by one-off performances there’s a sense that Scottish rugby can finally begin to move forward. They’re not that far off being a decent side but they lack belief against the top teams.

Vern Cotter – new Scotland coach

Weaknesses

The scrum will be a worrying area for Cotter & Co. and somewhere they’ll look to improve through the Six nations. They struggled against Argentina culminating in a penalty try and were under pressure against New Zealand’s second string.

Although Scotland scored eleven tries there are still big question marks about their attack, especially against more organised defences. One of the big challenges for Cotter will be to get Maitland’s and especially Visser’s try scoring rates up to the levels their club performances hint at.

The biggest issue Scotland have to deal with is their lack of depth. With only two professional teams and one of those chock-full of imports, they’re more susceptible to injuries than most other Tier One nations. There are a few players Cotter can bring through with the likes of Ashe, Bennett and Russell already featuring in this series. But overall it may be a case of making the most of what they’ve got over the next ten months.

Ross Ford – lineout accuracy is vital for Scotland

The Players

With Euan Murray on the wane and Geoff Cross conceding penalties, solving Scotland’s scrum problems will be no easy task. Maybe beyond the RWC Cotter can address this issues but it’s difficult to see it being done before then.

Depth at hooker is another problem area for Scotland. Ford’s accuracy is crucial to their lineout success and with both Brown and Lawson seeing very little game time it seems that Cotter feels there’s a big drop off to the replacements.

Finn Russell seems to be a better option at 10, than Duncan Weir, but he’s yet to prove he can step up against the top teams. His struggles against New Zealand don’t inspire confidence and this remains a problem position for the Scots.

Team rating:   C+

Best players  1. Greig Laidlaw, 2. Jonny Gray, 3. Ross Ford

 Greg Laidlaw – man of the match against Argentina

Going forward

The main focus for Scotland will be performance over results. They will target their home games against Wales, Ireland and Italy as winnable. A good 6 nations for them would be 2 home wins and good performances away to both England and France.

With Samoa currently in disarray they’ve got a really good shot of making the quarter finals. Their lack of depth may see first choice players having to play in tough games against the USA and a much improved Japan team.

This may result in a tired team exiting to the winners of Pool A. Bowing out in the quarter-finals wouldn’t be a disaster for a team who failed to progress beyond the pools in 2011 and didn’t develop under previous coach Scott Johnson.

For a review of Southern Hemisphere teams in November see here

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