England will miss Mako Vunipola on Saturday but they have enough ball-carriers to turn on the power against WalesIt is not uncommon to introduce themes every now and then – we often use them at Harlequins – and one we’ve used recently is called decapitation strike. It’s a military term and it’s all about targeting the key individuals of an organisation and taking advantage of the knock-on effect – watching everything else fall away if you can eliminate their leaders. It could well be a key theme for Wales to target England’s half-backs in a similar fashion on Saturday.Owen Farrell is so influential in terms of how he organises England’s attacking and territorial shape, and he and Ben Youngs would...
The England and Wales head coaches, who share a huge amount of success and respect for each other, are likely to provide much entertainmentEddie Jones and Warren Gatland are going to have some fun next week. So far we’ve heard them both desperately vying to be the underdog – it’s the only time coaches ever compliment each other – but when we get into Test week we’ll see a few grenades launched from each side of the border.Personally, I love it. It’s two coaches who have huge respect for each other casually flirting in public. It’s hollow – because what they are saying publicly and what they are saying privately are two completely different things – but it’s great entertainment....
France caved under pressure from kicking but Eddie Jones may mix it up with Tuilagi and the Vunipolas against WalesFrance’s death by a thousand kicks at Twickenham started the week before in Paris. England have been extremely well coached in both matches so far and so George North’s first try for Wales against France on the opening night will not have gone unnoticed by Eddie Jones and his assistants. They will have seen that Hadleigh Parkes’s kick forward found space, it put Yoann Huget in a position he did not want to be in and then a bit of pressure from North brought the mistake. England took that and seized on it. Related: England’s Mako Vunipola faces ankle scan in...
Player welfare versus flow of the game, Ireland’s own Beauden Barrett and England kicking on with an All Blacks tacticEarly this season officials were hard on players whose acts risked causing a head injury. It led to a flurry of cards and bans but then came a World Rugby directive that the TMO should be used sparingly so games did not become addled by hold-ups. As a result, when Stuart Hogg was taken out by Peter O’Mahony and Rory Best, no penalty was awarded and there was no review; nor was there for any of the thumping challenges on Johnny Sexton. Hogg lasted 16 minutes and Sexton 23. Player welfare has been relegated below the flow of a game. Paul...
Taking revenge on teams who beat them in 2018, England have shown no mercy against Ireland and FranceThis Six Nations is starting to feel like a slasher flick, with England ticking off their victims one by one. They are taking bloody revenge on everyone who beat them in 2018, Ireland last weekend and now France. This was another pitiless performance.The idea France might surprise them, and everyone else, was shattered in the opening 60 seconds with a couple of nightmare tackles. Yoann Huget ran smack into both Vunipolas. He may as well have burst in on the Krays in the back room of the Blind Beggar. Then Guilhem Guirado was splattered by Courtney Lawes. Guirado coughed up the ball like...