Mike Brown has been in phenomenal form for England.
I
approached the start of the 2014 RBS Six Nations with excitement, but
trepidation knowing Stuart Lancaster’s side are still very much in their
development phase. The red rose looked like it would wilt under pressure from
Wales, Ireland and France – teams who all seemed far further along the line
than Chris Robshaw’s side.
Ahead of today’s matches Ireland are in the
driving seat for the championship. With a superior points difference and just
the one defeat (13-10 to England at Twickenham), victory at the Stade de France
in Paris would seal a memorable championship for the retiring rugby deity that
is Brian O’Driscoll. However, should Philippe Saint-Andre’s mercurial French
side defeat the Irish on home soil, then mathematics will decide if the French
can sneak past the English on points difference. This is unlikely as France go
in to the final round with a points difference of just 3, compared to England’s
32 ahead of their trip to Rome.
England started the tournament with a tricky
away visit to Paris with several new combinations being tested. Gloucester’s
Billy Twelvetrees and Northampton’s Luther Burrell forged their centre
partnership for the first time, and inexperienced speedsters Jack Nowell and
Jonny May made their Six Nations debuts on the wings. France took a commanding
16-3 lead after just 22 minutes, however Burrell bundled his way over for a try
and Mike Brown – who will surely be awarded player of the tournament broke away
for a score of his own. Throw in Danny Care’s audacious successful drop goal
and England were back in the game. Alex Goode added a penalty and the English
looked like sneaking a surprising away victory. However, the heroic effort fell
short as Gael Fickou, the promising Toulouse centre raced away for a 50-metre try
at the death to seal a 26-24 home victory for the French.
Lancaster stuck with his original selection
for the trip to a boggy Murrayfield and his side ground out a hard-fought 20-0
victory against a woeful Scottish side. The score line flattered the hosts as
England left several scores out on the field, however, the forwards outmuscled
their opponents and Burrell and Brown scored a try a piece to settle the
visitors’ nerves. This gave the young English side some confidence ahead of
their battle with Ireland at Twickenham.
When England welcomed the Irish to rugby HQ,
the visitors were tipped as favourites by many. Experience counts for
everything in international rugby and with O’Driscoll rolling back the years
and Paul O’Connell as aggressive as ever despite losing some pace and dynamism
around the park, his side were confident of victory. England trailed 10-3 at
half time after Rob Kearney cut a beautiful line to score under the posts,
however, yet again England showed tremendous character to claw their way back
in to the game. Harlequins superstar full back Mike Brown made a scything break
before releasing the electric Care who dived in to score unopposed. Two
penalties and a successful conversion from the maturing Owen Farrell were
enough to earn a famous win for his side.
Next up, Wales. Anyone who remembers the
horror show from England’s 30-3 drubbing at the hands of Warren Gatland’s side
in Cardiff last year may have approached the game with severe anxiety. Surely
England weren’t going to be humiliated on home turf? The Welsh arrived with the
simple game plan of ‘Gatlandball’ – in which they are directed to batter-down
the opposition defence, coming round the corner at pace before spreading the
ball out wide to scoring threats such as George North and Alex Cuthbert.
However, this simply didn’t work. England’s stoic defence held firm and a
shocking kicking performance by Rhys Priestland helped the hosts enormously.
The quick thinking of Care saw him take two penalties quickly to make a huge
territorial gain and after the second cheeky effort he dove over for the
opening score as Sam Warburton’s side failed to retreat for the penalty.
Twelvetrees put in a delicate grubber kick that Burrell latched on to for a
superbly executed try. Despite dominating the game in terms of territory and
possession, England led just 20-15 at half time because they gave away silly
penalties that Leigh Halfpenny slotted with ease. England withheld Welsh
pressure in the second half and even turned the screw on the Welsh scrum,
resulting in another sin binning for Gethin Jenkins. Farrell added a few penalties to give England
a cushion and Burrell looked to be in for another score only for Halfpenny to
make an amazing try-saving tackle in which he dislocated his shoulder for the
cause. The final whistle blew at England 29 Wales 18 and all memories of the
shambles in Cardiff last year eased.
England will obliterate Italy, but I suspect
Ireland will beat the French by 5, meaning that Lancaster’s side will take a
well-earned second place in this year’s tournament. This England side excites
me and the squad that will represent England in the World Cup in 2015 on home
soil is building promisingly. There are two or three players competing for
every position and there is real talent and determination being showed by Chris
Robshaw’s team. We may not have the best pack of forwards individually, but we
are working well as a unit and are a match for the Southern Hemisphere sides.
Care has to remain as the number one scrum half;
he sets the tempo and is always aware of attacking positions around him.
Farrell is turning in to a world class fly-half, he is kicking exceptionally
well from hand and off the tee, he tackles anything that comes down his channel
and he has even added a running game to his repertoire. Lancaster faces tough
choices in the centres, but it is reassuring to see real quality and strength
in depth in this side. Brown will make himself the best full back in world
rugby if he continues the form he is in, yet his wingers outside him need more
time to develop.
England can challenge in the 2015 Rugby World
Cup, despite facing a tough group with Australia and rivals Wales. What pleases
me most is that this side is yet to reach its full potential. There is plenty
more to come in attack and the defence can still be strengthened. Regardless of
the final outcome of the 2014 RBS Six Nations, England have had an excellent
tournament and have made a real statement to the rugby world. Who is to say
that England cannot win the 2015 Rugby World Cup?
