Japan are going to have their work cut out. Why? I suspect England’s coaches will be keen to employ similar tactics to those that paid dividends against Argentina and put boot to ball regularly. Having been on the receiving end of George Ford’s kicking ability at the last World Cup, I can see England’s fly-half taking full advantage of a disjointed-looking Japanese backfield, which even a beaten Chile exploited last week.
While many buoyant English fans will be calling for a 15-man running attack against the Brave Blossoms in Nice, they may need to be patient. A more likely scenario is that Steve Borthwick’s side will continue to focus on winning the territorial game and the aerial battle with the calculated aim of turning pressure into points. Personally, despite the presence of the dangerous Kotaro Matsushima in Japan’s back three, I’m all for it.
It’s not a case of being totally narrow-minded. Even inside the England camp this past week, Elliot Daly has acknowledged the need for tries. Without them it will be hard to shake off Japan or make any significant progress against tougher opposition in the knockout stages.
But with the Sale Sharks playmaker at the helm and Owen Farrell waiting in the wings, England have two of the best “kick pressure” fly-halves in world rugby. Couple that with my former Saracens teammate, now England’s attack coach, Richard Wigglesworth, a past master of the kicking game as a player, and England have the knowledge and expertise to employ this strategy as an attacking springboard.
I had to face a Ford masterclass in Kobe four years ago. Playing for USA Eagles at full-back, it was an exhausting game full of covering and U-turns and we lost 45-7. Ford is brilliant at probing tactically to gain territory, building pressure and unleashing his runners at the right times.
As a backfield player, you’re always having to anticipate the eyes of the opposing No 10. With Ford your focus goes into overdrive. If the back three are too short and central, he will pinpoint the five-metre channel with a cross kick or a game-turning 50-22. Too far back and you’re scrambling to cover the chip space, as demonstrated against Fiji at Twickenham last month for Marcus Smith’s try.
Last Saturday in Marseille Ford gained enormous territory with long-hanging, grass-finding kicks, allowing his chasing kings – Jonny May and Ben Earl – to smother the dangerous Argentinian counterattacker Juan Cruz Mallía.
There is no worse feeling than the one Argentina’s players experienced: being marched backwards, hit backwards and battling a scoreboard that required them to chase the game from everywhere. Meanwhile, a 14-man England were moving forward without having to bang down a door, hit hundreds of rucks or compound handling errors by overplaying in slippery conditions.
Ford’s ability to conserve the energy of his hardworking England forwards in the Marseille heat, as much as his personal points tally, was what ultimately won England the game. I have no doubt Borthwick will want his half-backs to pursue a similar ploy at Japan’s expense.
“Boring!” some English onlookers will shout, yearning for a joué type of game. At World Cups, though, finding a way to win is what counts. The try-scoring icing can only be applied if the cake beneath it is solid and risen. Courtney Lawes, Maro Itoje, Jamie George and co will be only too happy to look up having done their forward donkey work and see their half-backs putting them in the right areas of the field.
It is that collective buy-in that a coach such as Wigglesworth will be constantly emphasising. The Saracens stalwart has been there and done it, and this England squad will definitely look up to him. He was one of the best box kickers I’ve come across, as well as a hard worker who usually won the dreaded “bronco” fitness tests we had to complete.
Saracens’ suffocating style of play is something he will undoubtedly continue to push on this England team, having helped the club to multiple titles as a player and also shared in Leicester Tigers’ 2022 Premiership title success.
And don’t forget Farrell in all of this. It would be ridiculous to cast aside England’s formidable leader when he returns from his tackle ban next week. England fans might do well to remember Farrell’s last full game: a kicking masterclass of his own to help Saracens win the Premiership final against Ford’s Sale at the end of May.
Like Sexton, Farrell doesn’t need game time to hit the high standards he demands of himself. With Farrell, Ford and Wigglesworth singing from the same hymn sheet, England have a trio who can lay down a winning kick strategy. They will see it as a way to kickstart their attacking game against Japan and bring out their winning potential at this World Cup.
