Once again England – Jonny May apart – could not respond in adversity and the feeling that they are being over-managed and natural talent suppressed is never far awayIt’s a new chapter for France and the goal is 2023. They are going to have some growing pains along the way but at the start of a difficult voyage you often get off to a good start. It gives you confidence for the journey to follow.In his book, The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho calls it the principle of favourability or, in simpler terms, beginner’s luck. Maybe because I believe in that, it came so readily to my mind as I watched on at the Stade de France and saw the game unfold....
Eddie Jones made a selection mistake, Ireland count the cost of their bruising win and Wales start the post-Gatland era brightlyHowever Eddie Jones hoped England’s back row was going to go, it didn’t. The decision to pick Tom Curry out of position to cover for Billy Vunipola cost them twice over, because it meant they didn’t get the best out of their star flanker and also lacked a real ball-carrying threat at No 8. He has options, since Ben Earl and Lewis Ludlam are both in the squad and can cover the position, but given that he could have had one of Alex Dombrandt, Sam Simmonds, or Nathan Hughes playing there instead it might be time to admit he got...
Hosts reply with interest to Eddie Jones’s tough pre-match talk as sloppy England founder on an impeccable defence organised by Shaun EdwardsTo each man his own hell, and here in Paris we found out what it looks and sounds like for the 15 men in the England starting team, 17 points down while the big brass band in the north stand bangs out the Can-Can and 70,000 French fans sing along.Fair to say that when that’s what is ringing in your ears at the Stade de France, the game is probably not working out quite the way you’d hoped it would. The band struck it up midway through the first half, right after France had scored their second try. England,...
This Six Nations game was not as close as the score suggested, also thanks to Antoine Dupont’s excellence at scrum-halfAt times it was brutal to watch. Do not be fooled by England’s late rally, this was a masterclass from France, utterly unfazed by Eddie Jones’s pre-match comments. Their heroes were many: Antoine Dupont, the swashbuckling scrum-half, Charles Ollivon, the colossal captain and the irrepressible Bernard le Roux to name just three. Chapeau too to Shaun Edwards, for France’s new defence coach left an indelible mark on this match.On social media former players from both sides were lining up to laud Edwards’ impact. Serge Betsen said that we could see his “foot print” - You sense he meant fingerprints but given...
England may be the pre-tournament favourites, but France in Paris is a tricky first hurdle for Eddie Jones’s sideEngland’s World Cup seemed to be judged on the no-show in the final against South Africa, the manner in which they overwhelmed Australia and New Zealand in the previous rounds largely forgotten. They had one of the youngest teams in the tournament with Eddie Jones changing direction a year out from Japan and jettisoning some of his more seasoned players. The result was that they played with greater pace, if not invention, and at last had a complementary back row. Related: Andy Farrell at home with Ireland and prepares to lean on career mentors Related: Gregor Townsend says ‘door is open’ for...