Despite English media’s accounts that their team is prioritising defence in their training regime, it is not accurate to describe England’s offensive strategies as poor. In years gone by, there were games such as the notorious semi-final against South Africa where England gave up 93% of their control over the ball, carried a modest 88 times and, shockingly, did not break the line even once.
Nonetheless, their current performance exhibits a discernibly different approach. They are demonstrating average carries of 98 per game, exceeding four line breaks in each match. Numbers may seem inflated due to playing against comparably weaker American and Canadian teams, yet even when facing France, 22 defenders were beaten and four line breaks were achieved.
England takes the lead in this year’s Six Nations with the highest tackle-dodging rate at 22.9% and the most frequent rate of committing two (62.6%) and three (13.9%) tacklers. However, the problem lies in their scoring efficiency marked by on-field mistakes in key attacking situations. The game against France is a case in point where George Aston’s blunder allowed Francois Dupont to score leading to 25 handling errors, an unforgivably huge numerator.
A measly 23.1% of England’s line breaks result in tries. In contrast, France’s figures of 36.% – the second-best in the competition bear testimony to a game-winning strategy not seen from England so far.
The most controversial change has been the implementation of England’s new aggressive defence strategy under the guidance of Felix Jones, the former French coach. Only 85.3% of their tackles have hit the mark, the tournament’s lowest. But, much like France, they do not mind missing if it keeps the line intact and continues to pile on the pressure.
Despite the prowess of the ‘Boks, the England rugby team does not boast a stellar track record when it comes to scramble plays—the highest percentage of missed tackles leading to tries in the tournament is attributed to them. This may be a result of their lack of linear speed relative to the Springboks during wide-channel scramble situations after an aggressive advance.
The team’s defensive performance was generally commendable against Scotland, barring an initial attack led by van der Merwe that resulted in a try. The Scots capitalised on swiftly switching from defence to offensive positions. Van der Merwe managed two additional tries by exploiting gaps formed during less structured ball play when England’s defence was disorganised.
This vulnerability to power through after an initial breach could provide Ireland with reassurances, especially if they face difficulties penetrating the defence at first. The stats suggest they might not need as many line breaks as they have completed in this tournament (totalling 30) to achieve pivotal scoring opportunities.
Targeting slower players
An aggressive form of defence, known as blitz defence, usually depends on the swiftness of its most leisurely player.
This was highlighted when Italy and Wales exploited the disruptions caused by quicker defenders overtaking their slower team-mates, resulting in defensive openings. In Rome, English lock Ollie Chessum was too quick to attack Paolo Garbisi, creating a gap when he failed to prevent a pass. Neither the adjacent defender nor Joe Marler, the prop opposite the Italian 10, could fill the gap, allowing Italy to score.
A similar exploit of prop Will Stuart’s slower speed occurred at Twickenham, when Wales exploited an inside pass and Ethan Roots was unable to block the ball. Another break led to a try once again.
Ireland’s propensity to pinpoint slower defenders in the opponent’s line was demonstrated against Wales, causing prop Dillon Lewis to almost break down from defensive exhaustion, and giving room for Tadhg Beirne to achieve a try with no resistance in the final play of the match.
Ireland is renowned for passing the ball beyond the first (39.2 percent) and second receiver (16.7 percent), more so than any other group in the Six Nations. However, their tactic isn’t solely focused on wide passes; they also employ an effective and unforgiving narrow attack, capable of exploiting weakening front-row forwards.
Reflecting back to when Ireland lost a match to New Zealand during the World Cup, Ardie Savea and Sam Cane expertly interrupted the Irish breakdown, resulting in the All Blacks winning seven turnovers in the match. In comparison, when Ireland played against Wales approximately two weeks ago at Aviva, Wales only had three turnovers.
In expectation of playing against Ireland, England’s team includes two specialist poachers, Sam Underhill and Ben Earl, in their back row, a strategy they have deployed against other teams as well. Their coach, Borthwick, is acutely conscious of the need to interrupt Ireland on the ground, given Ireland’s natural inclination to control possession.
Ireland’s forwards coach, renowned Paul O’Connell, is well-known for the meticulous attention to detail he expects from his players when securing quality ruck ball. Evidently, his training technique is bearing fruit as Ireland boasts three players, Tadhg Furlong (91), Beirne (90), and Peter O’Mahony (92), who consistently make effective arrivals at an attacking ruck in nearly all cases. Comparatively, out of England’s initial pack, only Ben Earl matches such a record (90 percent).
The Irish team must provide rapid ball movement to reduce the setup time for England’s quick defence line. Conversely, England also requires a swift ball to pose any sort of challenge, given Ireland’s defensive prowess. Based on the evidence from the tournament so far, Ireland appears to have a slight edge.
Another aspect to focus on is the prevalence of kicking in England’s gameplay, especially with the selection of fullback Freddie Steward, an aerial specialist. When Steward participates, England’s kicking increase noticeably. Whereas when he is absent, the team tends to run more. In previous matches where Steward was active, England kicked the ball 31 and 32 times. Even when a more natural runner, Furbank, replaced Steward, England still kicked 31 times. Even with Furbank starting against Ireland, it is expected that England’s frequent kicking will continue. This tactic was prominently effective against Scotland, allowing England to gain a significant amount of territory; 56 per cent of the entire match was played between halfway and the Scottish 10m line.
Scotland’s sub-par kick escort was partly to blame for their performance, as it faltered in safeguarding their backfield player against England’s chaser when attempting to retrieve the ball. England’s successful kicking game was also due to effective tactics. In their first lineout of the match, they spread their play wide, which made Scotland’s backfield readjust their alignment, consequently leaving the other side vulnerable. England’s strategic kicks were often aimed at their under-sized scrumhalf, Ben White, positioned as the lone defence on the far wing. This was an unfair match for England’s chosen chasers when Ford opted to kick.
England is expected to employ skilful manoeuvres to manipulate the Irish backfield, meaning Hugo Keenan and others must be ready for their scheme. Additionally, they’ll need the kick escorts to shield them from players approaching from the front.