England came off the back of their RBS Six Nations campaign with a number of real positives. Having run Ireland close for the title, there now seems to be a lot of confidence and a great deal of belief in the philosophy of Head Coach, Stuart Lancaster. At a time when we have proven our credentials in the Northern Hemisphere, a 3 match showdown with the world’s number one side, New Zealand, was always going to help our development as we move towards next year’s World Cup.
Yet, if we are to view these matches as some kind of yardstick, what I don’t understand is the scheduling. If we were going to give ourselves the best possible chance of taking down a side of the quality of the All Blacks, it beats me why we allowed the first of the 3 matches to take place just one week after the Premiership Final and in the process deny ourselves of the services of several of our most accomplished players.
Playing the first match that soon after the final on 31st May meant that the likes of Owen Farrell, Courtney Lawes, Luther Burrell and Tom Wood would be in no realistic position to play at Eden Park. They flew halfway around the world at a time when they should have been recovering from their exertions at HQ and were never going to be ready.
In fairness to the coaching staff and the players themselves, pre-match nobody focused on the absentees and, in spite of the ridiculous schedule, we dealt with the situation and ran the All Blacks very close. Without doubt, mistakes were made and, despite us looking a little disorganised at times, especially with some of the new combinations in the line-up, we can consider ourselves a little unlucky to have lost it at the death to Conrad Smith’s try.
Nonetheless, the history books won’t make much mention of the missing players, recording simply the fact that we went one down in an important series.
This cluster of matches is all about whether England can take the next step. We certainly look to be heading in the right direction, if we take the Six Nations into account, but with the World Cup on the horizon we need our big players to stand up and be counted. Rugby at this level is a real team effort and it is often difficult to pick out individuals but I thought that, in need of a big performance, Chris Robshaw delivered in spades.
Sometimes I question whether he is our best option at No. 7 but there are no two ways about it – Chris is most definitely the on field leader of this group and the best man to take us forward to the World Cup.
Looking to this coming weekend, the scale of the challenge changes. Last weekend was New Zealand’s first game back after a long break and they will improve having banked that game time. England must demonstrate that they too can advance and, for me, that means picking the best players for the 23.
There is a school of thought that asks why guys who didn’t do anything wrong should be benched or, indeed, left out altogether. I think it is somewhat different in this situation. Certainly, the fact that we lost tells me that there will be squad changes but, more importantly, if we are to get an accurate picture of our progress at this stage, we need our biggest players to take the game to the All Blacks. That means throwing those Saracens and Saints back into the fray.
Much of the chatter in the run up to the match has been about how Manu Tuilagi is to be deployed, with Lancaster suggesting he may be played out of position on the wing. I think that phrase, ‘out of position’, is a touch outdated when applied to modern three quarters. The game has moved on and we see so much interchange between the centres and the wingers along with a lot of defensive work taking place off the ball. The Tuilagi debate is a case in point.
I do have one reservation about Manu playing out wide though. He is fast but he is not that fast. His game is built on so much more than that but with the All Blacks’ ability to move the ball quickly and create overlaps, his relative lack of pace may cost us. That said, his defensive work often goes unappreciated, he has a real rugby brain and is clearly a massive threat with ball in hand. Plus moving him outside opens up room for Burrell and Twelvetrees to show their strength in the centre.
This match promises a great deal. We will get more of an idea where New Zealand are at the moment but we will also see if England can up their level. I certainly hope they can and I believe it will be another close one.
These occasions are at the heart of why players want to represent their country. To test themselves against the very best and prove that they have both the physical attributes and the mental strength. I am really looking forward to this Test match and I am excited about next week’s blog. There should be a hell of a lot to chew over!