England rejig backline
14 Jun 2012
Toby Flood has been preferred at flyhalf for the second Test against the Springboks while coach Stuart Lancaster has made several other changes to his starting backline.
Flood replaces Owen Farrell at No 10 after the Saracens player had an ordinary outing at Kings Park last Saturday. Flood is far more experienced than Farrell and has enjoyed a good halfback partnership with Ben Youngs at Leicester.
‘Owen has had a fantastic season and I am sure he will make a significant impact from the bench,’ said Lancaster. ‘However, Toby has waited patiently for his opportunity and the time is right to allow him the chance to demonstrate his experience and skills in what will be a very tough challenge.’
The injuries to fullback Mike Brown and centre Brad Barritt have forced further changes to the back division. Ben Foden moves to No 15 and David Strettle takes his place on the left wing. Manu Tuilagi shifts to No 12 while Jonathan Joseph comes into the midfield for his first Test start.
‘It’s a shame for Mike Brown who worked hard to get that Test start but Ben Foden naturally reverts to fullback and we return to the wing partnership of David Strettle and Chris Ashton that served us well in the 6 Nations,’ said the England coach.
Meanwhile, Lancaster has kept the starting pack intact. There are changes to the reserve bench, with prop Alex Corbisiero replacing Paul Doran-Jones and Alex Goode coming in to provide backline cover.
England – 15 Ben Foden, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Manu Tuilagi, 11 David Strettle, 10 Toby Flood, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Ben Morgan, 7 Chris Robshaw (c), 6 Tom Johnson, 5 Geoff Parling, 4 Mouritz Botha, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Joe Marler.
Subs: 16 Lee Mears, 17 Alex Corbisiero, 18 Tom Palmer, 19 Phil Dowson, 20 Lee Dickson, 21 Owen Farrell, 22 Alex Goode.
114 Comments
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14 Jun 2012, 15:54 pm
@willievz(willievz)-97:
All of which is largely irrelevant if we don’t get front foot ball thanks to our forwards.
Hence, it is incorrect to attribute our attacking woes in the first half to the alignment of the backline.
Look to the forward dominance or lack thereof for the culprit.
14 Jun 2012, 15:55 pm
@fantasticbarnsmell(fantasticbarnsmell)-99:
OK – thank you for your vote of confidence and for obviously recognizing my considerable rugby knowledge and genius
14 Jun 2012, 15:56 pm
@Tacitus(Deucalion)-98: i want to believe
14 Jun 2012, 15:56 pm
@Couchcoach(GI POT)-93: Look at Nonu.
A prime example of how to utilise a crash-ball 12 as a good distributor.
Nonu’s decision-making is in a different league.
14 Jun 2012, 15:58 pm
@Tacitus(Deucalion)-101: Granted, Tac.
But even with front foot ball you can stuff it up by standing too deep.
I thought we had decent front foot ball in the first 20 minutes but took our time to recycle.
14 Jun 2012, 15:59 pm
@willievz(willievz)-34: It’s really strange, because it seems the AB’s choose the set phases as their best chance of attack. While the defense is structured, the rely on their running lines to create opportunities.
14 Jun 2012, 16:07 pm
@willievz(willievz)-95:
I agree de Jongh is a 12 but still think he needs to work on his passing game. By passing more he would keep the defence guessing. At the moment they know he very rarely passes meaning all the dummies in the world are not going to get you through the gap whereas when there is the threat that you may pass defenders take this threat a little more seriously.
14 Jun 2012, 16:23 pm
@Transformation(Transformation)-41:
Oh that game.
Yeah look, M Steyn is going to have to up his defensive game any which way you cut it.
14 Jun 2012, 16:24 pm
@tigereaver(tigereaver)-66:
No. He is just mad. Barking mad.
14 Jun 2012, 17:08 pm
@tigereaver(tigereaver)-107:
I’ve heard a lot of arguments against the idea of De Jongh at 12 on the basis that “he does not pass”.
I am not sure if this is just criticism. I agree that he needs to work on that skill, certainly, but he does not necessarily pass less than the other centers domestically.
However, he can step off both feet which means he can attack the outside shoulder of the immediate defender in front of him successfully, most of the time.
This forms the basis for quick ruck ball on the second phase.
14 Jun 2012, 17:11 pm
@pompies2(pompies2)-106:
They know they need to dominate the first phase, and are very, very good at it – partly because they make the right decisions.
Funny how they have so often been successful at dominating the collisions on first phase rather than necessarily dominating the set piece – I’d like to get your views on this.
This is a very interesting topic and something worth investigating. Their set pieces early in the game are very vulnerable, but as the game progress and they dominate the collisions due to the tiring opposition, they tend to dominate the set pieces.
14 Jun 2012, 17:32 pm
@willievz(willievz)-111:
I think your statement below encapsulates most of it.
“They know they need to dominate the first phase, and are very, very good at it – partly because they make the right decisions.”
The seem to appreciate the power of the player in possession is. What they then do is create multiple options for the ballcarrier, not allowing the defensive players to fully commit to a contact situation. Because of that indecisive action by the defenders, they can dominate the contact point, shift the ball before contact, or shift the ball in contact. Obviously there the foundational principles of good supporting lines, good soft skills and the reaction of the player to the visual stimuli on the field.
Essentially the principles around coaching involve. Teach, understand, learn, practice, recognize and execute.
Also helps that there’s some sort of national playing identity. There’s no major effort to homogenize 5 or 6 playing styles.
14 Jun 2012, 19:25 pm
First test ever watched.British Lions vs SA newlands 1955.
Have kept up with changes to the game ever since and watched/listened/read
about every game since.
But my,have learned so much tonight.
14 Jun 2012, 19:49 pm
Go H.M.
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