The day after England’s historic World Cup loss to Wales, and given the nature of the English defeat, I can’t help but reflect back at the pre-match controversies in the hope of finding some answers.
Should Owen Farrell have been picked ahead of George Ford?
Should Sam Burgess have earned his second England start?
Did Billy Vunipola deserve the number 8 jersey?
In fact though, the answer to all these questions is a yes. Each justified their selection in a passionate performance. Farrell kicked all of his penalties and was generally inspiring, Burgess was error prone at times, but did the job he was asked to do, and Vunipola was simply outstanding throughout.
The question therefore I’d like to ask: where was Luther Burrell?
With 20 minutes left on the clock, Stuart Lancaster and his team decided to bring off Sam Burgess; a player that I personally find a enigma [almost as much as he finds kicking a rugby ball], yet last night he actually did his job. To start with, he looked shaky, but he generally grew into the game and built in stature as the clock ticked on. He didn’t deliver that killer moment that the England coaching team were hoping for, but he went about his job quietly and succinctly enough for me to accept Lancaster’s decision.
When the big, towering centre left the field of play, however, the man tasked with replacing his defensive prowess was Owen Farrell – a player who had already put in 60 hard minutes of goal kicking, passing and tackling. Farrell, although perfectly capable in the centre, is nowhere near the same quality of a player like Luther Burrell, or even Henry Slade. So where was a specialist centre when England needed them most? Well, one in particular had been left at home, excluded from Lancaster’s squad when it was trimmed in August. It is this decision made many months ago which I believe has cost England in this, the most important of World Cup clashes, against their unforgiving neighbour.
Pre the Burgess substitution, everything seemed to be in place for the home side and was ticking over just fine. England had dominated the first half and looked very comfortable, going into half time with the all important lead. Each player knew their role, and looked to threaten the Welsh line repeatedly. When Wales were later struck with yet more injury woes, English fans were just waiting for the boys in white to cross the try line once again. Yet, as much as Wales seemed to crack and bend, England were unable to seize the moment.
In post match interviews with Lancaster, he hid behind excuses, claiming that Ben Youngs and Courtney Lawes were both hurting, and attributing the most serious of injuries to Tom Youngs, who was struck by cramp. Please correct me if I am wrong, but as far as I am aware, cramp is a manageable condition at the top level. I very seldom hear from elite Rugby players having to come off the field with cramp. Yet, as Tom Youngs was substituted for Rob Webber, the English set piece started to collapse. The line out and scrum both unravelled, and Wales grew in stature as momentum switched hands. The Welsh started believing, and England started wilting. Richard Wigglesworth took a bang to the head, and essentially cost England a crucial penalty at a vital moment in the match. Indeed, with a full 80 minutes on the clock, England’s strength in depth appeared to be their ultimate weakness.
Brad Barritt has today been criticised for committing too much in the build up to the late Welsh try. I can only think, however, that overcommitment came as a result of the defensive pressure placed upon him due to the multitude of English backline changes. The result of this poor defence: a Welsh try which essentially shaped their win. If England had have bought Luther Burrell with them, I can’t help but feel this may have been avoided. They could have made sure they had a specialist Centre on the bench, who could both defend and attack, as opposed to relying on a game plan that ultimately compromised this in the dying stages of the match. Or, with the team at Lancaster’s disposal, why wasn’t Henry Slade even on the bench? Yet again, he was not selected despite previous claims that he was “pushing close” to the starting lineup.
England now have a mountain to climb, with a must-win game against Australia to come next week. And that mountain seems ever bigger when we consider that the real problem in English selection was not those that took to the field, but those that didn’t. For the sake of the game, I hope that we can perform better next weekend, but only time will tell. For now, well played Wales. It was a win which was truly deserved, and one that will be remembered for a very long time.
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