England v All Blacks: Nick Easter highlights ‘absolutely pivotal’ battle at Twickenham and the ‘stop-gap’ situation that is hurting Scott Robertson’s team
Nick Easter previews England v All Blacks clash at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham.
As England prepare to face New Zealand at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham on Saturday, regular Planet Rugby columnist Nick Easter joins James While to identify five areas of focus that cost the Red Rose dearly in the two-Test summer series and which contributed to the All Blacks pulling off successive narrow victories.
Scrummaging
“Thankfully the scrum retains huge value at elite and Test level despite the attempts of the authorities to depower it. And long may that continue to be the case,” the former England international observed.
“Roll the calendar back to the Tests in July and in both instances, scrum penalties cost us dearly. We conceded three in each Test, but at no point could you say we really got a nudge or an advantage in any of them.
“England have gone for mobility over set-piece power in their starting line-up with both Will Stuart and Ellis Genge far better around the park than in the technical areas of the scrum. On the flip side, the Kiwi resurgence since 2019 came when New Zealand capped Tyrel Lomax and Ethan de Groot, both hugely powerful men. England also lose a bit of power with Ollie Chessum not available at six, so there’s a big point to prove.
“England need to set low, work on fast scrums and use the set-piece as a restart mechanism rather than a point of dominance, especially with Angus Gardner in charge, a man who tends not to penalise minor technical offences and focuses on the picture of overall dominance.
“The longer the ball stays in, the harder it will be and the England backroom staff will want to see real pace from the put-in to the out to curtail scrum duration which will play into the hands of the bigger Kiwi props.”
Half-back speed
“England possibly have an ace at 10 in Marcus Smith who caused New Zealand a lot of issues during the summer. He exposed the All Blacks in the wide channels on a number of occasions, working with Manny Feyi-Waboso and Tommy Freeman to get aerial momentum in attack and I think Scott Robertson will be really wary of the threat Smith poses,” explained Easter.
“However, the absence of Alex Mitchell will be an issue for England. He’s been at the heart of England’s turnaround since the start of the 2023 Rugby World Cup and his intuitive ability to get pace into proceedings will be really missed.
“By saying that, Ben Spencer is a form pick and deserves his selection, but he needs to focus on speed from the base (both in clearance and in pass) in order to get the best out of England’s midfield. Smith can only work his magic against a moving defence and that relies upon speed of service to maintain threatening momentum. I do think Harry Randall can add a spark off the bench in a similar way to Mitchell.
“I personally don’t think that New Zealand have sorted their 10 selection out. They are waiting for (Richie) Mo’unga to return and it’s pretty clear to me that the likes of Beauden Barrett and Damian McKenzie know they’re keeping the shirt warm until Mo’unga returns and knowing you’re a stop-gap doesn’t breed confidence.”
Kicking duel
“Continuing from the half-back theme, England need to be laser-sharp in their management of their kicking game. Roll back to the summer, and New Zealand had McKenzie, Jordie Barrett and Beauden Barrett on the pitch together. That meant when England kicked long for grass at the back they always had an extra clearing kicker available to reclaim metres,” Easter continued.
“At the time of writing New Zealand haven’t named their side, but Will Jordan is almost certain to start at 15 and he possesses a big boot, so you have the double threat of him carrying back or taking the easy metres with the boot.
“England therefore need to get their kicking game shorter and into the wide channels, challenging the All Black wingers who struggled against the English aerial challengers as I mentioned before. I think we’ll see a lot of lateral kick passes, especially early doors, from both sides in an attempt to nullify blitz defences, so winning that kick battle is a really key focus for England and will need absolute accuracy in kick from Spencer and Smith, with powerful chases and control of the drop zone in the wider channels.”
Breakdown
“England didn’t record one clean steal in two Tests against New Zealand in the summer and came off considerably second best in the breakdown battle in both encounters,” said the former England number eight.
“I’m pretty sure that’s why Tom Curry comes in for Sam Underhill. Sam is a brilliant stopper on the gainline but over the ball, he’s not as well equipped as either Curry or Ben Earl in terms of stealing.
“New Zealand’s superpower in contact is how low they get in and clear out. Sure, in the summer there was a feeling that they got away with a bit in terms of side entry, but you have to react to that on the pitch in real time, not use it as an excuse post-match.
“It’s all about teamwork – dominating the arrival point and getting in quick, low to high, in numbers, working to stop with double team tackles with second man in and on the ball, just as Toulouse did to Leinster in the Champions Cup Final.
“Again, Angus Gardner prefers freedom and a contest at the breakdown – that’s not a criticism, it’s an observation of his style – so England need real pace into those collisions and I see the battle between Tom Curry and Ben Earl, and Sam Cane and Ardie Savea, as being absolutely pivotal in deciding the game’s outcome.”
Defence
Easter added: “Whilst Joe El-Abd is England’s new defence coach I don’t expect much to change in terms of how England will defend. The blitz caused New Zealand a lot of issues in the summer and Henry Slade is there to lead that onslaught again, something he and the England line did brilliantly in both Dunedin and Auckland.
“It’s also key that England exit efficiently with the boot. The last thing they want is to be running out of defence off a kick in the middle part of the field – this is like shooting fish in the bottom of a barrel for the Kiwis who thrive off transition ball from midfield.
“Defending against New Zealand is about no easy outs. Patience and trust in the system are absolutely key, as are communication and players really pushing themselves to self-recycle to maintain integrity of numbers on feet. You cannot afford to get isolated – the lowness of the New Zealand ruckers means that it takes a split second for them to rob you or win a penalty.
“The watchwords here is be prepared to be comfortable without the ball. Maintain line speed and integrity of numbers and use the same suffocating tactics we saw in the summer.”
Conclusion
“England blew two chances for memorable away wins in July and they cannot afford to blow another this weekend,” Easter warned.
“Traditionally, they start slowly, whereas New Zealand have been together for a long period of time now and are on the upslope in terms of their regeneration.
“Every Test match brings different challenges. The All Blacks are as powerful as any side in the world but the real challenge they bring is in order to beat them you need complete accuracy and concentration on your defence and kicking strategy as a bare minimum.
“The irony is you always get chances against them to score – possibly more so than against South Africa or Ireland – but the key is staying in the game on the other side of the ball and for England to win on Saturday their accuracy and concentration needs to be flawless, otherwise New Zealand will overturn us once again.”
