England v Wales: Five takeaways as ‘predictable efficiency’ exposes indiscipline of a visiting side ‘careering from one disaster to the next’
England's Henry Pollock gets tackled high by Taine Plumtree while, inset, Henry Arundell runs in one of his three tries
Following England’s 48-7 victory over Wales in London, here are our five takeaways from the one-sided Six Nations fixture.
The top line
England disposed of Wales with predictable efficiency at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham as they ran in seven tries in a performance that will please rather than delight head coach Steve Borthwick.
Their tries came from a wonderfully taken hat-trick from Henry Arundell, Ben Earl, Tom Roebuck, Tommy Freeman and a penalty try, but most of their scores came when Wales were shorn of numbers, as the visitors conceded four yellow cards over the course of the match.
It left this watcher thinking there should have been more, both in terms of the scoreline and in terms of attacking execution. While that might sound harsh, it demonstrates both the standards England demand and the depths to which Wales have fallen.
The visitors were beaten, but there was something to admire about the manner in which they failed to capitulate, especially in the second half, when they grabbed their own score through Josh Adams and really pressured England to frustrate the host’s attacking ambitions.
George Ford grabbed the player of the match award for another commanding display at No.10, but his half-back partner, Alex Mitchell, or the thundering Earl, who finally got game time at centre, could equally have been nominated.
It was a win somewhere near convincing, but England and Borthwick may just be wondering if it should have been by a few tries more.
First-half Henry Arundell hat-trick lights up England as sorry Wales cop another heavy loss
99 problems
To steal a line from one of the greatest sportswriters, Martin Johnson of The Telegraph, Wales only have three problems to fix; they have no defence, no set-piece and no attack.
At 29-0 at half-time with Wales reduced to 13 men after nine penalties conceded in the opening 20 minutes and two yellow cards that exposed the discipline of a side careering from one disaster to the next, the whole thing was playing out as humiliation documented in real time. Most worryingly for Wales, the England fans around them started to feel sorry for the visitors, something unheard of only a couple of short years ago.
The scrum gave them nothing other than pain and ignominy, whilst the lineout, where Alex Coles and the England pack operated with surgical precision, became a source of Welsh ball only in the loosest technical sense.
Coles cleaned them out three times as England’s lineout function rendered Wales’ set-piece an exercise in futility. When Wales attempted to build phases, errors arrived like a police escort with botched tap penalties and breakdown turnovers, demonstrating nothing but the rhythm of a team that has forgotten how winning feels.
Steve Tandy stood on the touchline watching his side implode under the most basic pressure as the yellow cards came not from cynical professional fouls but from panic and ineptitude.
England simply had to exist in Welsh territory to force mistakes, with Arundell’s second and Earl’s try scored against 13 defenders who couldn’t maintain basic shape, couldn’t execute fundamental tasks, couldn’t stop haemorrhaging penalties and made Test rugby look something more akin to target practice.
Yes, Wales scored a second-half try when veteran Adams went over (after England’s skipper Maro Itoje recorded the not-so-special achievement of a yellow card after just seconds on the pitch). But other than that, they lacked any form of penetration.
It is a fair claim that Wales’ cards were a killer, but when defenders cannot manage basic club-level alignment, there is something to be seriously worried about.
Star men
Player of the match Ford managed the game brilliantly from 10, with his boot pinning Wales deep whilst his distribution found runners in space where, time and time again, Welsh errors, transgressions and indiscipline gave England a host of possession and opportunity.
The hosts excelled in the spaces where Wales collapsed under pressure; around the breakdown, the set-piece and in the drop zone from the contestable kicks. And with Mitchell’s ruck clearance operating at sub-two-second speed, it gave the visitors no time to reorganise their defensive line.
The Northampton scrum-half provided the kind of quick ball that turned static phases into attacking opportunities before Wales could set their structures, and his decision-making controlled tempo through understanding when to box-kick for territory and when to release at pace.
Mitchell’s service allowed England’s strike runners to operate in the right channels while his aerial precision created the pressure that England, particularly Guy Pepper, exploited through controlling the drop zone.
The Bath flanker won collisions and dominated the contact area where Welsh receivers found themselves isolated. And when Mitchell was closed down, his threat was so great that Ford had enough time to light a cigar before launching a bomb or unleashing his carriers.
Arundell’s hat-trick came from precisely the broken field running that makes him dangerous, the Bath winger finding space on the left edge where Welsh discipline had created numerical mismatches through yellow cards.
His pace in the wide channels punished a defence that couldn’t maintain shape and he went on to complete his hat-trick. Earl added a try from close range whilst Coles, working brilliantly with Ollie Chessum, cleaned Wales out repeatedly at the lineout where the visitors had no answer to England’s precision.
The Northampton lock created set-piece dominance that turned Welsh throw-ins into English possession.
Old faces, new positions
Rees-Zammit at full-back for Wales and Freeman at outside centre for England represented the kind of positional experimentation that might add value in theory but perhaps didn’t work under match pressure. Both players moved in from the wing to roles that exposed rather than expanded their games and stripped away the broken field running that makes them dangerous.
Rees-Zammit plays 15 for Bristol but found himself constantly out of position at Twickenham, caught in the middle third where space evaporated as England’s back row, aided and abetted by a brilliant defensive effort from Joe Heyes, operated like a demolition crew.
Aside from one electric second-half break, where the ball eventually went to the floor, every time he attacked the gain line, Heyes, Earl or Sam Underhill smashed him backwards as the Welsh full-back discovered that 15 demands defensive anticipation and spatial awareness that wings rarely develop.
His defensive attempts to swap around with Adams under the high ball served only to advertise how uncomfortable he appeared to feel in the role.
Freeman’s issues were different but equally damaging as the Northampton centre blew two certain tries through decision-making that suggested a winger’s instincts rather than a centre’s vision; the first when he threw a poor pass to Roebuck, who had a clear run-in, the second when he took contact with two free players screaming for the ball outside him.
The jury remains out on both experiments, but Saturday’s evidence suggested two talented players operating outside their natural habitat where their broken-field threat counted for nothing.
However, adding even more intrigue, we saw Pollock replace Roebuck, moving Earl to 12 and Freeman to wing whereupon, rather predictably, Pollock almost scored with almost his first touch. Sadly, his size 11 foot just slipped into touch after Taine Plumtree delivered the yellow carded impact that led to an inevitable penalty try.
Well, it’s the year of the hybrid after all, isn’t it?
Implications
England enjoyed the kind of comprehensive hit-out that builds confidence without providing genuine information about where they sit against quality opposition. The margin flattered a performance that left 15 or 20 points on the field through Freeman’s two blown tries and handling errors in promising positions.
They now travel to Murrayfield next weekend to face a Scotland side that will arrive battle-hardened from losing to Italy in one of the tournament’s toughest opening fixtures. Gregor Townsend’s men learned in Rome exactly what happens when execution of marginals fails under pressure.
Borthwick explored England’s depth effectively, with Bevan Rodd’s scrummaging impact off the bench providing the kind of mobility that suggests the head coach has options beyond his first-choice props.
Coles’ game at the lineout and in the loose also confirmed he can operate at this level when Itoje needs managing. But these discoveries came against opposition that couldn’t contest properly rather than against sides that will expose weaknesses through sustained pressure.
Wales may have been beaten comprehensively but their second-half spirit at least provided evidence that Tandy’s squad hasn’t completely surrendered.
They will host France next weekend knowing precisely the fixes they need to make around discipline, set-piece execution and decision-making under pressure. They are the kind of concrete problems that have solutions rather than existential questions about whether they belong at this level.
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