England’s coaches have sought advice from some of the world’s leading referees, including Wayne Barnes and Joël Jutge, to rectify their “reckless” scrum.
Last year the English pack retained the ball from just 85% of its own scrums – the worst of any tier one nation – and Steve Borthwick and his team are taking all the help they can get.
“We’ve taken lots of input from the officials because that has not been as good a relationship as we would have liked and we have worked on fixing it,” said the forwards coach, Richard Cockerill, who will leave his post after the Six Nations to join Montpellier in the French Top 14.
“The boys have worked hard. We have got a good pack of forwards, we have got some good personnel, and it is just keeping them honest and working them harder than we probably did previously.”
Cockerill suggested that England’s problems were as much tactical as they were technical. The feedback received has been that the scrum was “ill-disciplined and a bit reckless”.
But it is not just the scrum that needed redress. England were ranked ninth for lineout steals and 10th for their speed at the ruck last year, and the team now occupy sixth place in World Rugby’s rankings.
“You should take [those numbers] personally because that’s part of our identity as a team,” Cockerill said. “Some of the players were surprised by the stats. As coaches, we’ve got to coach that better.”
There have been signs of improvement, with England winning all 11 of their scrums so far this tournament against Scotland and Italy while procuring five penalties in the process. Wales, however, will pose a unique challenge in Cardiff on Saturday week.
Cockerill believes Warren Gatland’s team will be “galvanised” after a pay dispute that may lead to a player strike. If the game goes ahead, England’s departing forwards coach will likewise expect a display of cohesion from his pack.
“England have always found it difficult in Cardiff,” Cockerill said, alluding to a run of three consecutive defeats at the Millennium Stadium. “What Wales are doing with their players is not really our concern.”
