England are aiming to knock off their rough edges on Sunday — by stopping Italy from carving them apart out wide.
Having opted to ditch the blitz after the Autumn Nations Series, the national team have been seeking to bed in a new, more refined defensive system under Joe El-Abd.
Three games into this Six Nations, it has been an area of promising progress, but there have been some glitches, too. In summary; England have been formidable in the middle and fragile further out.
Steve Borthwick’s side have made 40 dominant tackles in the first three rounds of the championship, as a demonstration of their hard-hitting credentials. By comparison, France have managed 17 and Ireland 21. The Irish — title holders and favourites — are renowned for their efficiency, but England have a fractionally higher tackle-completion rate — 85 per cent versus 84 per cent — and have also conceded fewer penalties.
Attitude and collective spirit have been evident in the way Borthwick’s men have scrambled so well, despite the enforced absence of Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, who is a master of that ‘art’ at a young age.
In the game against France, the hosts’ desperation was exemplified by Ollie Sleightholme chasing down Louis Bielle-Biarrey and forcing him to pass inside, which led to a knock-on by Peato Mauvaka. Such efforts paid off, as England snatched a 26-25 win.
England’s defence has proved more formidable in the middle after three Six Nations matches
England’s new defence coach Joe El-Abd has been attempting to be in place a refined system
England were fiercely assertive when Scotland were direct in their Calcutta Cup clash
In the Calcutta Cup a fortnight later, Maro Itoje and his team conceded three tries but they were again fiercely assertive when Scotland were direct.
The English rearguard action was summed up just before the hour when Finn Russell burst through a gap to within five metres of the home line, but 11 phases later the visitors had been pounded back almost 20 metres and Itoje won a turnover to allow the hosts to clear the danger.
Yet, there were glaring lapses in the same game. Scotland targeted Sleightholme in the air and Marcus Smith on the ground, with the giant Duhan van der Merwe running over the Harlequins playmaker stationed at full back, in what was a brutal size mismatch.
While Smith’s struggles out wide will have contributed to his demotion to the bench for the clash with the Azzurri, the other Smith — Fin — made 16 tackles and once again showcased his relish for physical confrontation.
Narrow victories in their last two matches have highlighted England’s willingness to hold the line and fight for each other, but also revealed the need to reinforce the defence on the ‘edge’, where opponents have exposed them. It wasn’t just against Scotland, as James Lowe set up Ireland’s first try against England in Dublin in the first round by blasting through Alex Mitchell.
Borthwick recognises that there is a strong foundation in place but that strides must be made. ‘The absolute stand-out part of the defence would be how hard they run for each other and how quick they have got back when they have been broken,’ said the head coach. ‘The team have shown a resilience and fortitude that has been outstanding.
‘Secondly, the competition on the opposition breakdown — it has not been a strength of England in recent times, but it has really developed into a strength during this campaign. The two teams who have won most turnovers at the opposition breakdown are England and Italy, so that has been a real asset.
‘Our defence through the middle has been really strong. Clearly, there have been times when people have had success and made metres and breaks on edges. That has been down to tackle completion or we have been a little bit narrow. As we grow as a team, you would expect us to address that and we are aiming for that to be better this weekend.’
Maro Itoje’s side have been making progress defensively but issues still remain for England
Scotland’s Duhan van der Merwe ran over Marcus Smith at full back in a size mismatch
James Lowe set up Ireland’s first try against England last month by blasting past Alex Mitchell
Marcus Smith’s defensive difficulties have been a factor in the decision to replace him at full back with Elliot Daly, who will be expected to be resolute and positionally astute when the opposition are exerting pressure. Borthwick has also brought in Fraser Dingwall in midfield in place of Henry Slade, who had been such a key figure in the implementation of the blitz system.
Asked if he expects the changes to enhance England when they don’t have the ball, as well as when they do, Borthwick said: ‘It is an area we need to be better at. You saw how Scotland moved the ball and exposed that space very, very well.
‘I am sure Italy have analysed that and will try to go there (wide to the ‘edge’). As ever, you analyse something and see an opportunity, but you would also expect a team to have worked on it and we have been working on it.’
The head coach’s tribute to his side’s breakdown exploits in this Six Nations reflects favourably on several men, not least Tom Curry. The Sale flanker has been magnificent — particularly against Ireland and France, before his twin Ben stole the show as an impact replacement in the Calcutta Cup match.
Asked about England’s defensive effort, Tom spoke about the attitude they bring to it now. ‘In this team, I feel like we’ve properly defended for each other,’ he said. ‘It’s felt like we’ve worked really hard with each other.
‘That’s not to say everything has gone right. We’ve definitely been too tight (narrow) at times. Scotland got to the edge too many times.
‘In the same breath, to know that you are going to hit for each other cannot be faked or replicated. We’ve definitely taken a step in that regard, as far as building a foundation and a mindset. There’s a feeling now of tackling on your toes rather than on your heels. Tactically, we need to get a bit better. And we can still go harder.’
Asked if the next step in their development involves tweaking or finessing El-Abd’s system, the more-capped Curry twin added: ‘It’s a natural evolution, and I hate the word “evolution”, because it sounds like we’re putting it off until next week. Why not do it now? But there’s learning that has to happen — especially doing it together.
Tom Curry, right, has been key to England’s breakdown exploits so far in the Six Nations
Curry believes England have defended for each other, but admits work is needed on the ‘edge’
‘You can’t (quantify) the tries we would have given away previously from line-breaks and so-on. We’ve definitely saved some tries this way.’ After England hung on to beat the Scots, the vanquished visitors emphasised how their rivals’ defence had been so influential, especially when they dominated the first half.
‘England defended very well,’ said head coach Gregor Townsend. ‘They are very good in their own 22.’ Co-captain Rory Darge said: ‘There were a lot of opportunities we didn’t make the most of. Part of that is England defended well.’
Even the rampaging Van der Merwe, when he was named Man of the Match, paid tribute to the winners, adding: ‘We had a lot of opportunities in that first half and we didn’t take all of them. Fair play to England’s defence, in the first half they kept us out.’
Against Italy, Borthwick will hope that Dingwall slots in well between Fin Smith and Ollie Lawrence, to form a powerful barrier against the dangerous centre pairing of Tommaso Menoncello and Ignacio Brex.
He will also hope that Daly can lend reliable support to the wings and chase down any line-breaking Italian who makes it through the heavy artillery.
What England will keep bringing is a fired-up mentality to stop the opposition and not let each other down. That is galvanising them, as outlined by Ben Curry in the aftermath of the Scotland win.
Steve Borthwick has made changes to his England side to help defensively against Italy
Fraser Dingwall, left, comes into midfield while Elliot Daly will provide support to the wings
‘My personal view on defence is that it’s got to mean more than tackling,’ he said. ‘You’ve got to want to hit people. It’s an unnatural thing to put your head in a dark place where it shouldn’t be. You’ve got to have a deeper reason to do it, especially in defence.
‘We want to try to tackle in twos, so it requires you to be on the same page as your mates. You don’t want to go in half-heartedly because you know your mate’s going in 100 per cent. It’s like guilt. You know he’s flying in, so I’m not going to let him down.’
England’s guilt trip will be worth watching. Some of their defence in recent weeks has been quite the spectacle. They might have moved on from the blitz, but what has emerged is still a brutal onslaught.
