There are more rucks than anything else in a game of rugby.
Take the Six Nations showdown between Wales and England in Cardiff. There were no fewer than 211 of them in total. So if you come second best at the rucks, there’s a fair bet you are going to end up second best on the scoreboard.
That’s the fate which befell Warren Gatland’s men at the Principality Stadium as they were blown away at the breakdown.
It undermined their attacking efforts as they bombed a series of highly promising opportunities and it left them vulnerable defensively, with England’s far superior cleaning out contributing significantly to their three tries.
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So here in detail are the key ruck moments that went a long way to deciding the outcome of Saturday’s contest.
9 mins - Owens caught offside, England ahead
The opening points of the game and they stem from a Welsh offence at the breakdown as skipper Ken Owens is caught on the wrong side after tackling Ellis Genge. He’s penalised for not rolling away and Owen Farrell pings the kick over.
14 mins - Willis steals from Faletau
There are few better over the ball in the modern game than Toulouse flanker Jack Willis and he provided evidence of that early on. Taking a pass infield from Leigh Halfpenny after a goalline drop-out, Taulupe Faletau got up a good head of steam as he surged toward the English ranks. But brought to ground by a fine tackle from Lewis Ludlam, he was isolated for a split second and that was the invitation Willis needed as he swooped in and locked himself on the ball before Gareth Thomas and Adam Beard could get to him.
Penalty to England. On commentary for the BBC, Jonathan ‘Jiffy’ Davies declared: “Poor clean out by Wales”.
It was to be a recurring theme.
18 mins - Watson scores as Willis shoves Grady away
England’s first try and evidence that Willis can do the business on either side of the ball. A training ground move off a scrum saw Owen Farrell put winger Max Malins through a gap with an inside pass. Malins fed Ollie Lawrence, but the centre lost his footing as he took possession and went to ground.
Now was Wales’ chance, with Mason Grady getting in a good body shape as looked to jackal over his midfield opponent. But just as he did so, Willis arrived on the scene and yanked him out of the way. That delivered quick ball and then it was down to good hands and an acrobatic finish from Anthony Watson.
26 mins - Wales spurn points as Chessum and Farrell do the business
Awarded a penalty on the England ten metre line, Wales had the chance to cut the deficit to 8-6 through the boot of Leigh Halfpenny, but Tomos Williams opted to tap and go. It was a questionable decision and it didn’t pay off.
After seven phases, the hosts found themselves back where they had started on the ten metre line and then the contact area proved their undoing. Taking a pass off a ruck standing still, Christ Tshiunza was driven back in the tackle by second row Ollie Chessum. That enabled Owen Farrell to contest over the ball and Gareth Thomas ended up sealing off illegally as he entered from the side and flopped over Tshiunza. Points spurned, penalty conceded.
The celebration from Chessum showed just how up for it England were in terms of winning the collisions, victories that make such a difference when it comes to ruling the roost at the breakdown.
36-38 mins - Slow Wales waste great opportunity as Dombrandt takes advantage
You now reached the most telling period of the game in terms of Wales’ attacking being undone by their poor clean-out play, amid two glaring examples in quick succession.
In the first instance, they kept the ball for some two minutes as they went through 19 phases, gradually getting closer to the English line, with Louis Rees-Zammit having made the key incision into the 22.
This is the area of the game where teams like Ireland are so proficient and so regularly come away with tries through their relentless and remorseless recycling. But Wales just don’t have anything like that kind of efficiency at the moment.
After Rees-Zammit’s break, there were forward carries from Adam Beard, Gareth Thomas, Tshiunza, Owens, but there was no decisive dent, no big surge over the gain-line. In the end, it came to nothing as an isolated Faletau was penalised for holding on off a ruck pick-and-go.
Now it’s fair to say it was a pretty dubious call from the referee as Alex Dombrandt placed his hands on the deck before scraping back, but the key point is he and Ollie Lawrence got in over the ball ahead of any supporting Welsh player coming in on the clean-out, with Justin Tipuric and Tomas Francis arriving too late.
Watching the replay, Jonathan Davies said: “There is no-one there to clear out. That’s an easy turnover”, while, alongside him on commentary, England Test scrum-half Danny Care summed up the issue for Wales, saying: “In the 22, you have to make sure you deal with the ruck, you have to get rid of the threats. That was a crucial steal.”
39 minutes - Ludlam stops Wales in red zone again
Wales were soon back underneath the English posts after Gareth Thomas had burst deep into the 22. They were in the red zone once more. Could they capitalise this time? Unfortunately not, with the lack of an efficient clean-out again their undoing.
After eight phases, Tomos Williams fed Beard off a ruck some eight metres out. But the Ospreys lock was static taking the ball and brought down by Kyle Sinckler. This time, there were supporting players to hand, with Alun Wyn Jones and Francis either side of him. Yet neither of them managed to get to grips with Lewis Ludlam, who was straight in over the ball to win another relieving penalty and signal the end of the half.
“They have to clear out there and recycle again,” said an exasperated Jonathan Davies, while Care commented: “It’s just too slow. The next phase needs to be quicker, the ball needs to be out of the ruck. It’s one-out runners and that’s meat and drink to this English defence.”
Watching up in the studio was the last Wales coach Wayne Pivac, who delivered a pretty forthright assessment after the match.
“Over the three weeks they have had many opportunities in the 22 and they are not converting,” said the New Zealander. “You have got to have that urgency in that red zone. Five, ten metres out, that’s where players have got to get hungry. It doesn’t matter what number is on your back. The closest guy has got to be in there, get his height right and just blow that defending player out of there to get quick ball.
“England made their tries look simple in the end through good carries and excellent quick cleanout which gives you that speed of ball.”
That latter point was demonstrated early in the second half.
44 mins - Warburton frustrated, England win the collisions and Sinckler scores
Wales had taken the lead with Louis Rees-Zammit claiming an interception try just 46 seconds after the restart. But they were to be in front for the briefest of periods as England proceeded to provide a lesson in just how to convert pressure into points in the opposition 22.
After Owen Williams had put in one roll too many on the deck, the visitors kicked the resulting penalty to the corner and simply pummelled away until they scored.
It was about their carries and their clean-outs, as they kept on edging nearer their whitewash through muscular surges and protecting each player brought to deck to prevent a turnover. It culminated in a spinning Kyle Sinckler being shunted over the line by the excellent Ludlam who was right there on his shoulder. Try time.
Speaking after the game on the BBC, Sam Warbuton got to the heart of the matter.
“I call it the alpha test. There’s no deception when you are carrying from the base of a ruck five metres out. It’s just power v power and who wins,” said the former Wales and Lions captain.
“When England got within five metres of that try line, they just won those small inches and gradually got over. They just had more power when they were in attack. When they cleaned out, they were flying in.
“You have to approach it like you are tackling someone when you are cleaning out. You go in there and you smoke someone and you get them out of there. Wales just seemed to flop in to a few too many rucks. They weren’t cleaning out with the tenacity they should do. The guys coming onto it have to smash through the ruck to create momentum and Wales just didn’t do that.”
49 mins - Williams pinged for side entry as Halfpenny trapped
This time, the ruck issues cropped up out wide. From a free kick on the England 10 metre line, Wales moved the ball left with Leigh Halfpenny tackled to the deck.
Once again, the visitors were just better at the breakdown, as two of their backs drove supporting men in red off the ball on the counter-ruck, drawing a penalty with Tomos Williams guilty of a side entry as he tried in vain to secure possession.
65 mins - Curry gets the better of Faletau
Another attacking opportunity comes to nothing amid a break down of the Welsh breakdown.
Off a scrum midway inside the England half, debutant Mason Grady carried strongly on a hard line before going to ground. But, once again, Wales failed to recycle with Ben Curry getting over the ball and surviving the attempted clean-out from Faletau to win the turnover.
It was the story of the day.
74 mins - Itoje versus Reffell as Lawrence scores
One final demonstration of how it should be done as England scored the try that sealed their victory.
After 13 phases of persistent probing where they consistently made ground through that effective carrying/clean-out combination, they found themselves just inches from the line as Henry Slade sliced through.
The key then was the work of Maro Itoje, who got there first and rolled Tommy Reffell away off the prone Slade to provide quick ball, with slick hands doing the rest to put Ollie Lawrence in at the corner. Game over.
Conclusion
In summary, this was a game were Wales were handed a lesson in breakdown play, in particular when it comes to the clean-out at ruck time. They simply have to address that major shortcoming ahead of the trip to Rome, be it in terms of personnel or execution, because otherwise they are staring down the barrel of a whitewash.
At present, the balance of the back row just doesn’t feel right in the absence of an out-and-out jackal.
There has to be a strong case for starting with Tommy Reffell on the openside against Italy as he is one of the most effective breakdown forwards out there, especially when it comes to pilfering possession.
With Faletau at No 8, it would then come down to either Tshiunza or Jac Morgan on the blindside flank.
Each are young players with much to offer, but you can’t help feeling the man Wales are really missing is Josh Navidi.
There are few better at the clean-out than the man with grappling genes, his Iranian-born dad Hedy having been a freestyle wrestler. When he is on the scene, the recycling is just that bit slicker and quicker, giving his piano-shifting ability to move bodies out of the way.
Sadly, Navidi remains sidelined with the neurological neck issue he sustained on last summer’s tour of South Africa.
So, in his continued absence, Wales need to adopt a more assertive collective approach among the players available to win the race to the breakdown and look after that most precious commodity in the game of rugby - the ball.
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