Three games into this year’s 6 Nations Championship and Stuart Lancaster is definitely exceeding expectations. Well, my expectations anyway, which to be honest were pretty low following the disaster of a World Cup campaign.
I began watching the England v Wales game not expecting to win and finished it desperately disappointed and slightly annoyed we didn’t win. Pre-tournament, I was excited by what Lancaster had to say about his philosophy and the way he intended to take the England team forward. He then backed this up with his squad selection, dropping the poor performers and the “old guard” and bringing in players who are clearly talented and have energized the elite set-up.
A few tweaks to the starting line-up against the Welsh, albeit enforced with an injury to Hodgson, and England are starting to look like a team with dynamism, discipline and a cutting edge. Three things missing under Martin Johnson.
Hodgson would have been unfortunate to be dropped for anything other than an injury, however I think he will struggle to retain his starting birth for the next match given the performance of Owen Farrell. Farrell was excellent against Wales and looked better at Fly-Half than he had at Centre. A star is born? The new Jonny? Lets not over-hype the kid just yet but his composure on the field for someone who is just 20 is particularly impressive.
The Centre partnership of Barritt and Tuilagi has huge potential. Each hits like a hammer in the tackle and we know that Tuilagi can run some good attacking lines as well as using his power in contact. But for a cracking tackle from Sam Warburton he would have gone over for a try on Saturday.
Of the other new players brought in by Lancaster Ben Morgan and Lee Dickson also stand out whilst there are honourable mentions for Botha and Parling. Morgan’s rise has been rapid, and he is fortunate to benefit from James Haskell’s decision to play in Japan, however what he has shown so far bodes well for the future and Haskell is another who faces a fight to get his place back. Dickson plays the way Ben Youngs should be. Sharp around the breakdown, keeping the ball moving and generally maintaining the forward momentum.
I also think Chris Robshaw’s captaincy has been very well received by the players and fans. I was a little bit sceptical when he was appointed, feeling that it should perhaps have been given to a player with more experience. As the leading ball carrier and leading tackler in each of the first two matches he has clearly led by example and England have been largely organised and very difficult to beat.
It has been silly lapses in concentration that have cost tries and the team were weakened with the introduction of some of the replacements during the game against Wales. Matt Steven’s came on and immediately gave away several stupid penalties, despite being clearly warned by the referee. Ben Youngs continued his irritating “take five steps then pass” routine, compounding it with the accuracy of a scud missile. There are also one or two in the starting line-up who need to up their game or who should face being dropped, namely; Chris Ashton, Dan Cole and Ben Foden.
Obviously there is still much to work on with this England side but they are definitely moving in the right direction and the future is looking much brighter. In my opinion the RFU already have the right man for the job and should give him the opportunity to continue to build on what he has started. England have already progressed much further than anyone had expected them to. This is not just down to Lancaster, but also to Andy Farrell and Graham Rowntree. The players have clearly responded well to this coaching team. I’m sure no small part of this is down to the fact they are English. I’m not denigrating the merits of having foreign coaches; Gatland for Welsh Rugby and Andy Flower for English cricket have clearly proved their worth. Fabio Capello....ok, maybe not. Of all the “proposed” candidates I’m not overly impressed. Mallett had a good record with SA but then he should have done given the depth of talent in the country and Kirwan did nothing to advance the rugby of either Italy or Japan.
The loss to Wales see’s them overtake us in the IRB World rankings. Should England remain outside the top four at the end of the year then we will not be a seeded team for our home World Cup in 2015. That would mean we would be likely to face a much tougher group, and route to the final.
England are making good progress under the current coaching team. I sincerely hope the RFU recognise this and allow it to continue.
And yes, I though Strettle had definitely scored J
