Whither England 2020?

Every now and again I have a tendency to pontificate on the state of the nation. And by ‘nation’ I do of course mean the England rugby team.

2020 has, obviously, been a very strange rugby year, none more so than for Eddie Jones’ boys. 

A Six Nations campaign that started with a whimper in Paris – the hangover from the World Cup Final defeat very much in evidence – and then was disrupted by the scourge of Covid-19, ended with England crowned champions after a routine victory over Italy in Rome in October.

There then followed the inaugural, and perhaps only, Autumn Nations Cup, where England cruised past Georgia, Ireland and Wales with the minimum of fuss and seemingly with the handbrake on, before a last gasp victory over France last weekend in the final.

So, two trophies in the past few weeks and 15 victories in their last 17 matches – all is rosy in the England garden, right?

Well, no, not quite. England, whilst winning, have attracted plenty of criticism for the manner of their victories which have been based largely on a strong set piece and brutal defence. More bludgeon than rapier is sometimes to be expected, but often in the last few weeks I have been taken by how little bludgeon is actually being used – England rarely seem to have possession for long enough, such is the propensity for kicking the ball deep. And the sight of England butchering overlap opportunities on the rare occasions they have attacked has been immensely frustrating. Scott Wisemantel’s absence has been very apparent.

It would be too easy, however, to go over the top with such criticism. Yes, it is hugely difficult to watch, at times especially when you feel like England should be able to run teams ragged, but I do feel that defeat in the Rugby World Cup Final last November has affected Eddie Jones more than he would care to admit and has led to something of a re-boot, with Jones and his team being very aware of what they have been trying to achieve i.e. “this is the way we are going to play and it is up to teams to stop us – if we can win playing like this then we will carry on and can add on bells and whistles as and when…”.  I am confident that Jones fully realises that it won’t be enough against the world’s best.

What we should also realise is that, despite what many say, Jones’ England squad is actually evolving. Yes, the core of the 2019 squad remains intact but the involvement of the likes of Ollie Lawrence, Max Malins, Will Stewart, Johnny Hill, Ben Earl and Jack Willis this Autumn demonstrates that Jones is aware of the need for renewal. Yes, it is frustrating to see the likes of the Simmonds brothers and Alex Dombrandt not given an opportunity, but competition for places in this squad is pretty intense. Joe Simmonds, for example, fine player that he is, is competing with players who have 88 and 69 caps respectively, whilst competition for places in the England back row is simply insane – who do you leave out?

Familiar doubts do remain, however: 

- Ben Youngs remains inexplicably undroppable, with Dan Robson getting precious little game time     (although Robson’s introduction against France on Sunday was pivotal);

- The lack of alternatives to Billy Vunipola at number 8 remains a worry;

- The midfield combination conundrum remains i.e. should England stick with the Ford/Farrell axis and who provides the midfield threat in the absence of Manu Tuilagi?;

- At what point should Maro Itoje be appointed captain (if not now, when)?; and

- Is Elliot Daly really the answer at 15?

The good news, however, is that – all things being equal – we have less than two months to wait before England’s Six Nations 2021 campaign begins at home to Scotland.

I, for one, can’t wait.

Total Flanker – the older I get, the better I was