Getting started quickly is relatively easy. The true test of any game plan is collective conviction. Can your players maintain the same approach when the wind is taken out of their sails and it seems like opponents have noticed?
At half-time of this riveting match at Twickenham, just after Jack Crowley had taken a fourth penalty to put his team ahead 12-8, the Irish players sprinted off the pitch as if chasing the opening kick - mind games 101 Most English players were much slower in walking to the touchline.
The hosts had thrown a lot at their opponents and were doing very well, but were still behind. That they came forward to oust Ireland was a triumph of their faith in Steve Borthwick's strategy and of their own persistence. This is how England achieved a famous victory.
Transition attack
During the build-up to this match, Borthwick spoke of an offload from George Furbank at Murrayfield that was not obvious. You might not find it when you watch the tape. The England head coach used this fictional moment to emphasize that continuity would improve his team's attacking cohesion. Borthwick retained Furbank and promoted Immanuel Feyi-Waboso to the starting line-up. Those calls cemented England as a threat on the counter and within four minutes they made good on their promises not to simply spoil the game. After fumbles against Scotland, the hosts wanted to play and Ollie Lawrence's try was a cracker, inspired by an assertive strike.
Furbank collected an clearance from James Lowe and fed his Northampton Saints colleague Tommy Freeman, who cut onto the ball and flattened Calvin Nash. England had the scent of a quick ruck and capitalized. Alex Mitchell, fantastic once fit again, emptied the tank and distributed it neatly. In this case, Furbank bounced to the short side and offered himself to George Ford. His slick take-and-give to Henry Slade got Ireland into all kinds of trouble:
The story continues
Lawrence, who had migrated to the sidelines, was able to rush over the whitewash.
In the 48th minute, with Ireland at 17-8, Jamison Gibson-Park kicked long. England spread it out well, with Feyi-Waboso almost retaining possession as defenders crowded him. Ireland has indeed committed itself too much to the contact area. The ball was shot back to the left via Jamie George and Ford. Sam Underhill sold a dummy before passing to Maro Itoje and assisting Furbank at the finish.
Furbank carried a later Lowe free ball over the touchline and conceded territory that led to Ireland's fourth penalty, but also rose to collect a high ball from Crowley in the 55th minute. Borthwick's faith was richly rewarded.
Henry Slade featured prominently as a secondary distributor and Marcus Smith's decisive goal also came from ambition. Reduced to 14 men after Chandler Cunningham-South had limped off, England played away from a lineout before Danny Care and Smith spotted space down the short side and brought in Feyi-Waboso. The safe option would have been to dart into the field to set up a ruck. Instead, after being offered the outside by Bundee Aki, Feyi-Waboso accepted the invitation and shot into Ireland's 22:
England showed patience to earn a penalty and Smith dropped back to take three points - a Jonny Wilkinson-era tactic that has been revived under Borthwick.
This was the afternoon that England supplemented their 'press plus' template, based on contestable kicking and disruption, with attacking vim. Richard Wigglesworth can be proud.
England might even consider that they went through too many phases around the halfway line and could have kicked more. What a difference fourteen days makes.
Earl arrives in the Six Nations
Ben Earl, a bright spot at the World Cup last year, would have known himself that he had not really excelled against Ireland or France, the dominant forces in the Six Nations, during his Test career. How that changed. On Stats Perform's first count, he recorded 101 running meters from 19 carries and slipped eight tackles with deft footwork.
He seemed to like the new balance of the peloton, with George Martin at the end and Ollie Chessum as a blind flank player. Colleagues stepped up to share the burden. Jamie George, with 30 yards off six carries, punched holes and broke once through an Earl offload. Ellis Genge, who gained 13 yards on seven carries, volunteered for the toughest yards, as did Martin and Underhill. Earl's own effort featured a formidable breakaway as he raced straight out of traffic from an Ireland lineout stolen by Chessum on the tail:
Peter O'Mahony conceded a cynical penalty on the return, was sent to the bin and Itoje pointed to the corner. England carried out a clever line-out drill. Earl started in the receiver position and stepped into the set piece as Theo Dan's throw was in the air to lift Underhill, which would have been an unlikely target. This is known as an 'inset lift'. Billy Vunipola often did them for England. The deception is such that Ireland does not even dispute the following:
Fortune favored the bold, with Earl eventually stretching from close range.
The Saracen was close to the top of the tackle count with 12 and proved to be a nuisance, notching a jackal turnover for good measure in the 68th minute. The biggest compliment you can give Earl is that he took on Josh van der Flier, a former World Player of the Year and one of the top visitors, and emerged victorious. Caelan Doris was honestly overshadowed.
Set-piece plans are coming true
Moving Martin to the second row alongside Itoje and shifting Chessum to the blindside flanker served his purpose of making Ireland's lineout - such a valuable platform - dirty. Andy Farrell's charges also found their maul suppressed. The variation on the English throw was impressive. Here, in the first half, Earl again fills the role of receiver as he would later lift Underhill. This time he joins the lineout as a target and almost scores:
There were other clever wrinkles from England, such as placing Chessum at the base of defensive scrums so Underhill and Earl could act as flankers:
And they were solid enough to wrest possession from Ireland on two of their raids.
Conviction on the blitz
Yes, there were messy, heart-in-mouth moments for England's ultra-aggressive defence. Ireland cut them apart for two second-half tries, the first of which looked ominously simple as Crowley played matador with an onrushing Slade. But much earlier England had shown its cards. In the seventh minute, Ireland narrowed them down and surrounded Feyi-Waboso, but the tacklers scrambled desperately. As Ireland threw offloads into the field, Underhill didn't have to worry about an offside line and hit Tadhg Beirne:
Three phases later, he and Feyi-Waboso rushed to force a spill from the usually flawless Hugo Keenan:
Towards the end Ireland, although hampered by injuries to Nash and Ciaran Frawley which exposed their decision to bench just two backs, could not find their trademark fluidity.
Use of the sofa
England needed a team effort to get home and Borthwick's proactivity deserves praise. He unleashed a whole new front row in the 55th minute, including 23-year-old Dan. Cunningham-South replaced Underhill with a quarter remaining, providing momentum before his late injury. One of his last actions was this offload, freeing Smith:
Alex Dombrandt - perhaps part of the squad because Borthwick expected England to need a late attack - came on shortly afterwards. Elliot Daly was on hand for a late penalty attempt from over 50 yards and the Harlequins' crowd pleasers, Care and Smith, roused Twickenham. While a lopsided boxing kick from Care briefly lost momentum, the main man delivered the final attack and his halfback partner stepped up when it counted to complete the upset.
