England takes it Australia on Saturday at the Sydney Cricket Ground with the series on the line after last week’s win in Brisbane. Eddie Jones’ team won the third test at Sydney Football Stadium 40-44 to record a clean slate on their 2016 tour and these are the areas they will have to dominate to take home the Ella-Mobbs Trophy.
Win the kicking exchanges
Kicking exchanges during tight Test matches represent crucial cat-and-mouse games within a game. Over the course of a series of three matches, the intrigue increases. England’s stated aim of expanding their attacking repertoire in stages makes this even more exciting. They kicked just 18 times in Perth and only collected 491 meters through the shoe.
Australia’s head coach Dave Rennie suggested the tourists increase that output at Suncorp Stadium. He was right. Against a starting back three with two changes from the previous weekend, England put 34 boot-to-ball times. As a result, they collected 1,025 pedal meters, with Van Poortvliet and Freddie Steward particularly impressive.
In part, this was a response to the photos Australia presented to them. Jordan Petaia, a new face at the fullback, suffered a concussion early on. The hosts were also left without a wing for 10 minutes after Izaia Perese’s yellow card. That said, there also seemed to be a predetermined strategy for using more chase pressure than they generated during the first test.
France, at the top of World Rugby’s rankings after two wins in Japan, illustrates how a patient, sustained stair approach can yield attacking opportunities. It should also conserve energy among their explosive runners. England certainly looked deflated as long bouts of attack flattened and faded.
Interestingly, the numbers of running meters in England in the two tests were very similar. They managed 372 in Perth, boosted by Henry Arundell’s late show, and 375 in Brisbane. That reinforces how effective use of the shoe can provide running opportunities. Kick tennis is all about ripple effects.
For example, in the first half at Suncorp Stadium, Marcus Smith chopped the ball into a space that would have been covered by the scapegoat Perese. Nic White had to cover and, hounded by Owen Farrell, his kick clotted right up to Jonny Hill. England should have made more money from their lock’s running counter.
Much later, Danny Care’s boxing kick was reclaimed by Tommy Freeman. Via a spinning Joe Heyes, Farrell snapped a kick pass to Nowell and the Exeter wing bundled up a number of defenders en route to the Wallabies 22. Two kicks, one run, valuable yards.