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4 hours ago
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Not long ago you wouldn’t have thought of England as a team who produce many magic moments. Their approach at the 2023 World Cup was certainly different but, as we saw in the autumn, England can produce something from nothing. My worry is that they can be too reliant on those moments. Marcus Smith is a magician, capable of some spellbinding stuff, but there are only so many rabbits he can pull out of a hat.
Put simply, England have some room for improvement in terms of precision from their launch plays. To win in Dublin for the first time since 2019 they need to show better shape and patterns, which in turn give Marcus more opportunities to do his stuff. In the autumn most of what Marcus showcased wasn’t as a result of shape or patterns, it was instinct – darting down the blindside, leading counterattacks or picking off an intercept against New Zealand.
England found an impressive rhythm scoring points as last year went on but defensively they were exposed too often. If they can tighten up defensively and not show so much reliance on individual brilliance they’ll be in the game in Dublin.
I find the debate and the conversation about Marcus fascinating. It’s almost as if, because he can be so instinctive, there is a perception that he cannot play in structure, or that he is in some way responsible for England’s inability to do so. It’s as if we look at the inadequacies of England’s attack and automatically pin it on the No 10. But for me it was obvious: he was England’s best player of the autumn, bar none.
When we talk about patterns and shape, it’s really important that we understand precisely what we’re talking about. The point of shape and patterns is to create options for whoever the ball player is and, more often than not, that’s going to be Marcus. If he has really good shape and he has different options, you’re left with the best ball player on the pitch to select the right option. I don’t think we’ve had a robust pattern for long enough to give Marcus enough options. If we can drill the shape of England’s attack more, it gives him more choices and he’s pretty good at selecting the right one.
If we flip it on its head, we know Marcus is a talent and his vision is incredible, so why haven’t we seen it enough for England to win these tight matches? Is it his ability to spot things or is it the structure around him? I believe it is the latter because he has shown a number of times that, where he has good options, he’s very good at taking them. I believe the team needs to a) provide good quality ball and b) when they’ve got it provide enough quality options, whether that’s with their shape, running lines, depth, speed or urgency to get into the required position for Marcus to be able to pull the trigger.
Is it because he’s not driving the shape enough? Would another 10 drive shape a bit more or have the England team been given enough time to practise their structures? It’s very rare that you get a 10 who consistently makes bad decisions and selects the wrong options, so if it’s not a case of Marcus making bad calls, we need to look at the choices he’s been given. I don’t remember a game where we thought: ‘Oh Marcus, what a terrible option.’ We can debate things in terms of his decisions to kick, pass or run but in terms of when he’s got the ball in his hand to attack with, he is the best England have.
What we do want to see is Marcus still having that licence – if he sees it and feels it, go for it. But having that supplemented by creating opportunities through quick ball, pattern, shape and options. England need to connect those dots and provide opportunities for whoever is in good space. That’s where England must improve and it’s going to take a big match from Henry Slade because there is not an abundance of ball players in England’s backline. He has a big role to play defensively but he also needs to assist Marcus in attack and get the best out of Ollie Lawrence alongside him. I think back to Slade’s performance in Dublin in 2019 and England could do with another one of those.
In my mind, how great would it be if 70% of England’s points were manufactured in shape and then 30% were those magic moments? You can’t go into games, as we were in the autumn, relying on brilliance from individuals to get you points. It’s not something you should rely upon.
I look at the team Steve Borthwick has picked and I believe it’s on the defensive side. Tom and Ben Curry have been chosen to disrupt Ireland’s rhythm, stop their flow and prevent them from going through phase after phase. We’ve seen how effective that can be.
If the Currys, and players such as Ben Earl and Luke Cowan-Dickie, are really strong at the breakdown, however, it can provide England with quick turnover ball and they can take advantage on transition. They have been really quite sharp in that regard in recent matches. Alex Mitchell’s return at scrum-half is a big plus in that area too because he is England’s swiftest No 9 in terms of his delivery. I’m excited by the back three as well. I’m really pleased for Cadan Murley and it will help him settle having Marcus on the pitch too and we know what Freddie Steward and Tommy Freeman are all about. Individually England have the players in form to perform. The question remains whether they can be greater than the sum of their parts.
