England couldn’t care less if some call Autumn Nations Cup ‘Mickey Mouse’.. playing in finals is rare and breeds winning
RUGBY is taking as much of a kicking as the Gilbert match ball is in for at Twickenham today.
It seems like we are light years away from 2019 and one of the best World Cups ever.
After all the attacking intent of the Japan games we are now going through a period of rock-solid defences dominating cagey games.
But, as England coach Eddie Jones has often said, our game is this cyclical beast.
The 1999 and 2007 World Cups were dominated by tight defences and kicking strategy.
HOW TO MAKE IT BETTER
HERE'S Nick Easter’s guide to improving the game as a spectacle.
CUT THE NUMBER OF SUBS
Only three guys can be replaced (if a side can’t fill a front row complement, then the scrum goes uncontested and that team loses a player) putting an end to teams emptying the bench after 60 minutes. Keep eight blokes on the bench, though.
REF THE OFFSIDE LINE
We have to get tough on the creepers at the lineout. Sides are normally halfway to the line before the move has finished, they then pause, before keep going. Refs and touch judges think that is OK. But it just creates that flat wall of defence where there should be space to attack.
BRING IN ANOTHER MARK?
The opposition could call a mark between their 22 to the 40m line — and from the mark the opposition have to send five men back into their 22. It has to be done within ten seconds to keep the game going.
Now, with a tweak in the interpretations of the laws, bringing more of a contest at the breakdown has meant there is now more risk of a turnover.
So playing in the middle of the pitch is seen as too risky where defences are so much better at Test level.
So the result is teams booting it away and putting pressure on the opposition deep in their own halves.
And, of course, the need to win a game always trumps everything. Then, there is also the mindset that you instil in the players.
If you are constantly practising kick-chase and the management of the middle of the pitch, and not focussing on slick passing moves, running lines, keeping the ball alive, then of course the games will reflect that.
Teams are also now massively risk-averse to off-loading.
I played in a Harlequins side who were the best off-loading team in the Premiership.
And that is because it was the majority of what we practiced.
But at international level you don’t have as much time with the players, so you have to narrow down and do what it will take to win.
And I know some people may say it’s a bit of a Mickey Mouse competition, but England couldn’t care less.
There is a trophy on the line against some of the best sides in the world and their biggest Six Nations rivals.
Playing in finals, you get exposed to a one-off game and they don’t come around that much in rugby outside of a World Cup.
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It breeds winning and you get used to it.
Sides that become serial winners have had a bit of hurt, too, until they understand what it takes to win together in that environment.
So it’s great to have the opportunity to play a final.