So it wasn’t one of the great victories. But it may just go down as one of the great defeats. The game should have been as good as over before it had even really started, cut short by a red card after Charlie Ewels’ reckless tackle on James Ryan.
The crowd didn’t like it, and booed long and loudly after Mathieu Raynal made the decision. But of course the referee was right. The fans’ frustration overwhelmed everything they’ve learned in the last few years about the long-term consequences of those kinds of collisions. But really, all that knowledge about the risks meant there was no room for forgiveness. Ewels had every opportunity to go lower. It was a dangerous mistake.
As the remaining England players pulled themselves into a huddle, the pressing question for them was what the hell they were going to do now, a man down and the whole game stretching ahead of them.
Some of it England had already planned for in training. Courtney Lawes moved up to lock and Jack Nowell, who Eddie Jones has always said (and only half joking) is capable of playing flanker, really did pack down there during the scrums. But the issue was bigger than which patterns they were going to switch to, who was going to play where, and how they were going to plug the gaps. The match had just become a test of their character, cohesion and leadership.
Which are issues Jones has been worrying over, and working on, for the last year and more, ever since the 2019 World Cup final against South Africa, when, thrown off by the early loss of Kyle Sinckler with a head injury, England crumbled under pressure from a side who were not just better than them, but who seemed to have a stronger sense of purpose and a greater strength of character, too. Jones has spent a lot of time and effort trying to develop the leadership group in this team since that, he’s promoted Lawes, Tom Curry, Ellis Genge, and Henry Slade, and even sent Maro Itoje for acting lessons so he can work on his communication skills.
All that for moments such as this, when things are starting to fall apart. England were all but bound to lose, weren’t they? What mattered now was how. It was clear that the match could turn into a rout. Ireland immediately stretched England’s defence by working the ball wide for their first try. It got worse when 10 minutes later Curry went off injured and was replaced by Alex Dombrandt, only just out of self isolation after he tested positive for Covid. And then Caelan Doris scored in the corner. Or he looked to have done.
The TMO disallowed it because of a knock-on in the buildup. But still. It was a moment that made you want to check the record books to look for Ireland’s record-win over England (43-13 at Croke Park in 2007), and England’s record-loss at Twickenham (6-42 to South Africa a year later).
With everything against them, and any real chance of winning this crucial game gone already, what were England playing for? What was there, deep in the guts of this team, that was going to get them through this? What were they going to draw on that would make them run farther, tackle harder, and get up off the floor that much quicker?
The answer was the same as it has always been in this game. The team, and their love for each other. Jones has talked about how he wants to develop their cohesion. He even sent them tenpin bowling in the week to help along their bonding. Well they needed every last bit of it now, Jones’s old England and his new England needed to come together, at last, and fast.
Would you believe it? They did. They looked into themselves and there, deep down, they found the reserves of urgency and desperation they needed. Doris’s disallowed try was a turning point, as if England felt like they had finally got a break from the fates.
After it, they dragged themselves back into the match, yard by yard, tackle by tackle, scrum by scrum, they fought so hard that for the middle 40 minutes you would never have known they were a man down. They dominated the scrum, fought furiously at the breakdown, even cracked Ireland open with a couple of scything breaks out wide. Marcus Smith picked off his penalties, and somehow, with 20 minutes left to play, the scores were level at 15-15.
The balance then shifted. England, exhausted, finally broke open as the Irish ran in the late tries that put them out of sight. But a week, a month, a year from now, long after the final scoreline has been forgotten, this may well be a game they look back on as a turning point in their development.
Jones called it a “foundation game”, an example of “the spirit, the determination, the ability to work through problems” they need. They will need a lot more of the same if they’re going to get through next week’s Test in Paris, when they will be underdogs again. But then, on the evidence of this match, that’s just how they like it.
Jones has spoken about the emotional energy South Africa brought to the World Cup final. I asked him last year if he understood yet what he could use to motivate his England players in a similar sort of way. “I wish I did,” he told me, “but we’re still looking for it.” I wonder if he found out a little more about it this Saturday, when they played some of their very best rugby when everything was stacked against them. There’s a reason why he’s always talking up the opposition.
