England’s Six Nations problems are also opportunities that Wales lack
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Version 0 of 1. Warren Gatland and Stuart Lancaster were in relaxed mood this week when they announced their squads for the Six Nations championship. The calm waters in the Wales and England camps at the start of the year will get choppier as a year that sees them clash in the World Cup progresses, but for now words will do. Gatland, starting his eighth year in charge of Wales, did not fire many barbs in England’s direction, as if considering that the Six Nations encounter in Cardiff next month will be a mere skirmish compared to the battle that will follow in the autumn. The World Cup is some distance away, so why does it preoccupy the thoughts of those whose great chance of a trophy lies in the Six Nations? Gatland pointed out that Wales were largely a settled side while England, especially behind, were not close to knowing their best combinations. Assuming Alex Cuthbert and George North see off the threat of Liam Williams and start on the wing – which is far from certain given Williams’s form, the dressing-down North received after November defeat’s to New Zealand for a low work rate and Cuthbert’s decision to turn down an offer of a dual contract – the 2013 champions will have a familiar look in the backs. England’s only almost certain starters are Mike Brown at full-back and Jonny May on the left wing. Anthony Watson and Jack Nowell are the contenders on the right wing, George Ford and Owen Farrell, never mind the fuss over Danny Cipriani’s inclusion in the England squad, are the options at fly-half and, while Ben Youngs is the incumbent scrum-half, No9 is a position where Lancaster has struggled to make up his mind since he took over as head coach after the 2011 World Cup. Midfield is where Lancaster is most caught between desire and pragmatism. Manu Tuilagi’s persistent groin injury has robbed him of his most effective ball-carrier behind and while Brad Barritt wore the 13 jersey in their last match, against Australia, and spilled much of his blood on it, he is more likely to start at 12 in Cardiff with Luther Burrell, in form for Northampton, at outside-centre. Discounting Billy Twelvetrees, whose form has been oscillatory for Gloucester, the alternative midfield pairing would be Bath’s Kyle Eastmond and Jonathan Joseph, whose burgeoning partnership passed another test in Toulouse on Sunday as the Premiership side put on another display of exhilarating, handling rugby to sweep aside the most successful side in the European Cup over the years. England tightened up against Australia after attempts to run the ball from deep in the opening two matches of the autumn against New Zealand and South Africa came to grief when the rain fell but the men in white failed to change to wet-weather tyres and crashed. How likely are they to abandon that at a ground where they lost by a record margin two years ago, never mind against opponents they will face in a World Cup match that may prove the difference between going through to the last eight or going home? A 10, 12, 13 combination of Ford, Eastmond and Joseph would be a bold statement of intent but would it make an impact against one of the most physically imposing back divisions in world rugby and a defence that tends to operate as one long line? It is not as if England have a big ball-carrying option in the back three, such as those Bath have with Matt Banahan and Semesa Rokoduguni. Wales bristle when they are called one-dimensional for their approach behind, which has a default position of the quick and burly Jamie Roberts taking a short pass and running straight, but there are times when they are rugby’s equivalent of football’s route one. Which is why the mercurial rather than muscular James Hook has gone from the periphery to the outside. Gatland can point to England’s midfield uncertainty but Lancaster has a tactical choice. Wales’s alternative to Roberts at inside-centre is Scott Williams but the Scarlets captain may not make the bench as he covers one position while Rhys Priestland and Gareth Anscombe have experience at full-back as well as fly-half and Liam Williams has been capped at wing and at full-back. Gatland spoke about not wanting to show his full hand against England to save something for the World Cup but Wales’s variation is on a theme. Lancaster has given himself starker options, although he has the compromise of playing Barritt or Burrell at 12 to deal with Roberts, with Joseph at outside-centre. Against Wales, who like to bring their big wings into midfield, defence will be the highest priority: at Twickenham last year, Wales did not make one metre of ground on their visits to England’s 22 and a repeat of that will leave the men in white needing to restrict Leigh Halfpenny’s penalty opportunities to win. Gatland is settled in his selection and tactics while Lancaster, after an autumn that started with muddled thinking and ended with a direct approach against Australia, remains in a state of evolution. The recall for Cipriani and the summoning of Nick Easter, two players who do not fit the mould of England post-2011, suggests a more flexible approach; Lancaster would appear to be too strong in his position to be susceptible to media pressure. Ireland won the Six Nations last year through having a different gameplan for each opponent. Joe Schmidt did not keep his players under a loose rein – no team off-loaded in contact less than his and, partly as a consequence because mistakes were reduced, none conceded fewer penalties, but they were not predictable. Wales, and to a slightly lesser extent England, have been and while it has been enough to deliver Wales the Six Nations title in 2008, 2012 and 2013, it has not delivered much success against the leading southern hemisphere nations, who demand more of opponents with the ball in hand than European sides do. England talked this week about the influence they hoped the 36-year-old Easter would have on his fellow forwards, who did not show much with the ball in hand in the autumn. Not many teams get through Wales’s defence; England will need to find a way to get around it. Should Joseph perform for Bath against Glasgow on Sunday as he did in Toulouse, his Six Nations time may come sooner than it appeared it would at the start of the year. • This is an extract taken from the Breakdown, the Guardian’s weekly rugby union email. Sign up here. |