Joe Simpson playing for England during the 2011 World Cup. Photo: David Rogers/Getty Images
Martin Johnson chose three halves of scrimmage for his England team at the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand. Richard Wigglesworth and Ben Youngs were supported by Joe Simpson; the latter was chosen after Danny Kare injured his toe and required surgery.
Nearly 12 years later, over the course of four coaching regimes, the landscape of perhaps England's most controversial role has not changed markedly. Youngs and Care seem ready for the 2023 World Cup. Wigglesworth would become an influential figure as one of Steve Borthwick's top lieutenants. The new man on the scene is Jack van Poortvliet, who has made 12 appearances in his Testing career, and also looks like he's going to France.
Simpson has now settled into his new chapter with Walker Crips, an investment management company, after retiring at 34 in the middle of last sell-off season. He is well placed to reflect on England's inertia in the semi-finals.
«We haven't seen so many nines in the last decade, which is mostly Ben's testimony,» explains Simpson. “I think he was fantastic for England, a top quality international scrum half. Constant competition at this level is phenomenal. He was tenacious and Danny was there for a few years as well.”
Two startling statistics add to England's stalemate in the scrum. First, since Youngs made his debut off the bench as an emergency flank against Scotland in 2010, he and Kare together have accumulated about 75% of the available Test minutes in that position. Secondly, in just 12 months, Van Poortvliet is already third in most Test starts (nine) of all the halves of the bout that have represented England over the past 13 and a half years. Only Youngs and Care are better than 22-year-old Lester Tiger over the same period.
Tests for England start with a scrimmage half after Ben Youngs debut
It would be unfair to say that Youngs, England's most decorated men's international with 122 caps, was like a lightning rod for criticism of his country's reliance on kicks and lack of fluidity in phase play. Simpson agrees with this, but gives a reason to be angry.
“Rugby is full of opinions and most of them come from people who don’t understand the game,” suggests Simpson, who has won his only England match since 13 minutes against Georgia in 2011. «Everyone seems to have a romantic idea of what it's like to win rugby because they've played at the under-15 level and remember running around with the ball and scoring goals.
“Especially at the international level, the defense is so good that it is so hard to break it. The risk-reward for playing from your half is simply absent. Any mistake and you call a penalty and your opponent scores three points or shoots from five meters away. If you throw caution to the wind and run away from your other half, you are likely to get stung.
“Complaints should be with the people who make the laws, not with the players who interpret them. I tell you, people would be even more outraged if their team kicked the ball from deep and lost control of the game.”
Minutes into the semi-final clash for England since Ben Youngs' Test debut.
This does not mean that Simpson is deprived of complaints about the game as a whole. Indeed, from his new perspective on the outside, after a career that saw several Premier League clubs follow his move from Wasp to Gloucester in 2019, boring box kicks make him cringe.
“Caterpillar backpacks are a parody. I've made a lot of money playing boxing tens of thousands of times, but it's not fun. If you were to list what you would like to see on a rugby field, I don't think highball competitions between touchlines and 15m lines would be on anyone's list. Maybe reinstall the contractions a little higher? Why is there a law that gives the advantage of slowing down the game?
“Caterpillar's cancer doesn't make sense. There is a law of five seconds that is not respected. Get rid of the caterpillar cancer, make it easier to reset the scrum halves. The teams will then launch 10 more [from the fly hull]. This is a faster strike that will be directed into space.
Simpson is also urging lawmakers to somehow shift the «wild» pitch competition in favor of teams in possession of the ball. He pleaded with the sport to provide «more access to players behind the scenes» and celebrate «superstars» to catch up on other sports.
However, he won't blame Borthwick and Wigglesworth for bringing a «safe and sustainable» philosophy to the upcoming World Cup, because such an approach — a «methodical» one akin to Leicester's — would give England the best chance of progressing deep into the World Cup. tournament. «I'm not calling on England to collect wires and scatter them everywhere,» Simpson says. «This is not the best way for them to win the World Cup.»
Head coach Steve Borthwick gives instructions during England training in Pennyhill Park. Photo: David Rogers/Getty Images
Youngs and Care, who were out for four years between 2018 and 2022, didn't always look confident about making it to the next tournament. But their longevity has created something of a skipped generation beneath them. Dan Robson, who has made 14 Tests and hasn't started, has had to settle for fringe involvement and even covering other positions in the back row twice, against Ireland in 2021 and the US later that year. Ben White, the former England under-20 captain, formed a complementary midfielder with Finn Russell, scoring goals for Scotland in two Calcutta Cup wins.
Ben Spencer, Harry Randall and Alex Mitchell have had strong Premier League campaigns in 2022/23 and have been involved in England's preparations this summer. However, they were quickly outclassed by Youngs, Kahr and Van Poortvliet. The situation does not surprise Simpson.
«Nine is obviously a key position, and many teams are taught to be conservative,» he adds. “At Gloucester and Bath the game plan was to compete from our own line to the opponent's 10m line. You box, compete for 50-50, and then if you lose the ball, maintain your defense.
“This culture is suitable for defensive, tactical players. That's probably why we saw Willy Heinz go to the World Championships. He is a fantastic passing player, but it's all about his sense of control over the game. Alex Mitchell, I think is great. He is probably the best attacking scrum half we have in the UK. But he doesn't sniff, probably because he doesn't fit into England's game plan. He is active, but probably cannot provide such control.
“Don’t get me wrong, Ben and Jack are good at sniping, but their X factor is their ability to get the ball up. and conserve the energy of their attackers. We have noticed that there is a preference for control of the halves of the fight, rather than instinctive. I don't think it's doing anyone a disservice because Ben is a pretty good player in his day.»
As recently as last week, George Ford hinted that the predictable boxing kick was losing its luster and that tall balls can be more effective when lifted halfway up or even farther. However, while sticking with Youngs, Kahr, and Van Poortvliet, Borthwick and Wigglesworth prioritized experience and familiarity. Van Purtvliet may be relatively young, but he has spent enough time under his former Leicester Tigers managers to put his game plan into action.
Perhaps the next World Cup cycle, the fourth since Simpson was called up in 2011, will be the one to finally see a major glitch in the half scrum hierarchy in England.
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