Play the match, not the occasion. Lap up the theatre, the dramatics, the pyrotechnics, the hostility, if that is what gets you going, but when you cross the white line, play what is in front of you. If there is one message that should have been hammered home to England’s players this week, it is exactly that.
Sport rarely plays out the way we fully expect it to, otherwise the Principality Stadium would not be sold out on Saturday, there would not be a growing sense of belief among Wales supporters that this is the day their desperate run of defeats ends, there would not be a nervousness, a tension among England fans heading to Cardiff. It’s why we love our sport but if England can play the match and not the occasion, they have the potential and the players to put Wales away comfortably.
What I love about the predicament England find themselves in is the onus to score a four-try bonus point. I entirely understand if players feel the need to show Wales due respect publicly, to say that just getting any sort of win in Cardiff is hard enough, but behind closed doors they will be discussing the fact that they are very likely to need a bonus point to give themselves a shot at the title.
It is scenario-driven rather than philosophy-driven but England have the talent; they have players built to go out and score tries. My hope is that if they pull it off, if they go out there and start fast, silence the crowd and execute, playing with the necessary mindset, that it becomes ingrained. Let’s not have to wait until the last weekend of a championship – where context dictates that they have to step on to the front foot from the word go; let’s have that as England’s modus operandi.
Let’s see England show a commitment to the attacking rugby that Steve Borthwick promises. It is often when their backs are against the wall, when they have a point to prove, but England have a habit of delivering when that clarity of goal is there. Let’s see that from the first whistle today. It’s a long time until the autumn, when Borthwick will next be able to pick a full-strength England side, so let’s see them finish this campaign as they mean to go on until the next World Cup.
If they are going to pull it off then two things will be pivotal: ruthlessness and decision-making. We saw what happened to Ireland when they failed to take their early chances against France. England cannot afford to be so wasteful against Wales. When I say decision-making, it’s not so much kicking a first-minute penalty to the corner. It’s about Maro Itoje and the rest of the leadership understanding the feel and the flow of the game – when to chance their arm.
I look to last weekend and in both the Ireland v France and Scotland v Wales matches, the first and second halves were completely different. France led 8-6 at the interval and ended up 42-27 winners. That tells me that patience is important but when I look at what Wales achieved in the second half at Murrayfield – scoring 21 points – it’s clear that England cannot allow things to unravel like that. Striking a balance will be key and that comes down to the on-field leaders.
It also comes down to the bench and Tom Willis has a big role to play when it comes to England stamping their physicality on Wales in the second half. It also explains the decision to have a fly-half of such experience in George Ford on the bench. If there has been one major shift by England since the autumn it is that their bench has gone from a weakness to a strength and they must use that to their advantage on Saturday.
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I like the team picked. I rate Tommy Freeman as a centre on the basis of what I’ve seen him do there for Northampton and I totally understand that, in a six-day turnaround, having a 9-10-12-13 axis of players all from the same club is what Borthwick wants. Freeman has the physicality to play in midfield and, to be quite honest, I just want to see him on the pitch. He has developed into such an integral part of this side as someone with such a small error count. He does a lot of things that go a bit unnoticed – he swung the game against France in England’s favour by winning restarts – and while that might not make a highlights reel, it’s incredibly valuable.
My only concern with the midfield Borthwick has chosen would be how do England get the ball wide, which explains why Marcus Smith comes back in at full-back. I feel sorry for Ollie Sleightholme, who has not done a lot wrong in an England jersey, but someone had to make way and Borthwick had to find room for Elliot Daly somewhere in this side.
If they start to play the occasion, however, England may find themselves in trouble. Matt Sherratt has given supporters the belief that Wales will be in the fight for 80 minutes and that makes them all the more difficult to handle when England are seeking to score four tries in a Six Nations match in Cardiff, something they have not done since 2001. That makes England’s challenge all the more exciting as an observer and all the more clear for the players. They cannot die wondering.