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One statistic highlights why Ireland have taken over from England as the Six Nations champions and explains why Eddie Jones invited the South African referee Marius van der Westhuizen to training this week before the match against their successors on Saturday.
No team have created more rucks in this year’s Six Nations than Ireland but no side has conceded fewer penalties at the breakdown. By contrast, England have given away more than anyone and account for nearly one quarter of the total penalties awarded in the tackle area this year compared to 16 % in 2017.
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With one round to go England have conceded almost double the number of penalties at the breakdown as they did in five matches last year, 30 compared to 16. It may not bode well that the referee on Saturday, Australia’s Angus Gardner, spoke to Dylan Hartley 20 minutes into the 2017 opener against France at Twickenham to recommend that the captain remind his players about the laws after Tom Wood twice went off his feet.
England are not the only team to have been penalised more at the breakdown this year, but only Italy have been blown proportionately more. Unless there is an amnesty in the final weekend every one of the six teams will see an increase in their penalty count from 2017: England, Scotland, Italy and Ireland have already passed last year’s total while France and Wales have equalled their tally.
The 28% increase in the number of penalties conceded at the breakdown is largely explained by more being awarded against the attacking team as the emphasis turns from continuity to generating a contest for possession, with turnover ball providing the best means for attack. It was only last year that the Wales and Lions’ captain, Sam Warburton, reflected on how much harder it was to secure turnovers after a tackle because of the emphasis referees were placing on defenders not placing their arms beyond the ball.
England were penalised only once in the 2017 Six Nations for not releasing after a tackle. They exceeded that number in the first half in Paris last weekend and a reason they invited Van der Westhuizen to training rather than an English referee is that the way the breakdown is being controlled at Test level is out of kilter with the Premiership. This is not the case in the Pro 14, where the entertainment factor is strong as it looks to grow commercially, or the Top 14.
“Referees in the Premiership lean to the attack so much that it is a waste of time competing in the first 10 minutes,” said one former English club coach this week. “When did you see the first breakdown penalty in a league game go to the defence? It’s a reason why you do not get genuine open-side flankers in England. Rugby union is all about contesting for the ball, or it should be.”
England’s problems at the breakdown were exposed by Samoa in November at Twickenham. They were turned over 20 times during a comfortable victory that afternoon: the ball-carrier was often isolated and the home side found themselves regularly outnumbered as they focused on what to do with the ball in the next phase of play rather than secure it.
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That trend has continued in the Six Nations. The sight of the France centre Mathieu Bastareaud making a tackle should have acted as a red flag in Paris but three minutes into the second half, after players had digested advice from their coaches, he tackled Mako Vunipola in the home 22, quickly got back on to his feet, forced the prop to hold on and won a penalty.
No one arrived to clear out Bastareaud. Contrast that with Ireland at home to Wales in the previous round when they took the ball into 141 rucks and failed to secure it only once. Every time Josh Navidi, who had forced turnovers from Scotland, got over the ball he was smashed out of the way by a support player before the carrier could be done for holding on.
“You could argue that English rugby can take this as an opportunity to learn,” said the Bath director of rugby, Todd Blackadder, a former New Zealand flanker who coached Richie McCaw, “and a lot of good may come out of it for the game here. One of Richie’s great qualities was that he adjusted and adapted to the way the breakdown was refereed so that changes in the law made no difference to his effectiveness.
“There is no question that teams are targeting England at the breakdown. Ireland are successful because their clearers do a really good job and allow them to win quick ball. Giving penalties away kills you, but there are certainly top-quality open-side flankers in England. Things just need to be thought about in a different way.”
One of Eddie Jones’s problems is that arguably the best wing-forward turnover specialists in the Premiership are not English, Bath’s Francois Louw and Wasps’ Thomas Young, but that is not an issue on defence rather than when England take the ball into contact. Dan Cole and Joe Launchbury used to be effective in the clear-out but serious neck injuries have reduced their impact.
Jones said it was not his job to try to influence the way the breakdown is refereed in the Premiership. He has throughout his time in England had a policy of non-interference with the clubs, exerting his control only when it is his time to have the players.But is it coincidence that the struggle in the Six Nations followed a low-key European Champions Cup group stage by Premiership clubs?
Exeter are the Premiership masters at taking the ball into contact and recycling it, keeping hold of possession in the manner of Ireland. It was a reason Don Armand was called into the squad this week, but Exeter were outplayed at the breakdown in both matches against Leinster in December. The Irish province created 164 rucks at Sandy Park and got the ball back every time.
That is what England will be up against on Saturday when it will not just be a matter of slowing down or filching Ireland’s ball but getting the clear-out right and securing their own ball to put their backs on the front foot.
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