England choose attrition rather than razzle-dazzle to deal with USA | Paul Rees


New Zealand dare, England wear down – Eddie Jones is playing patience as counterpoint to the All Blacks’ artistry

Steve Hansen reflected this week on how much European teams had improved since the 2015 World Cup when, for the first time, they failed to provide a semi-finalist. In Japan this time around there should be at least one semi-finalist from the north, more likely two. The group match between Wales and Australia on Sunday will reveal more but, at a World Cup in which the team with the best defence has tended to prevail, the deliberation with which they have started the tournament – no nonsense and fewer frills – has not been lost on Hansen.

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