In theory, selecting Marcus Smith and Owen Farrell gives England two playmakers. Photo: Getty Images/Mike Hewitt
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and we have reached the World Cup stage where winning is all-consuming, so calling a team «boring» makes no sense.
However, because As they look to make it into the last four this weekend, Steve Borthwick's side would do well to heed Eddie Jones' message from 2016. After beating South Africa 37-21, the England head coach ordered a portion of «fishy fish». and chips» next weekend against Fiji.
«You can't join the party,» Jones said. “They want to have a kava party; we want to eat fish and chips, so we'll definitely have fish and chips on Saturday.»
This metaphor illustrates the well-worn adage about the Fiji standoff: don't get caught up in the fast and loose because they'll be more comfortable than you. Seven years ago England won 58-15. Simon Raivaloui's men will be much closer in Marseille and should be confident of victory. These days they are more versatile and better prepared. But Jones' lesson for England rings true. It is always dangerous to deviate from your tactical identity.
Crayfish is a good start because Fiji will be super aggressive in this area. Led by Levani Botia and Joshua Tuisova, they boast a fleet of scavengers. According to Opta, they are averaging 4.5 Jackal turnovers per game this World Cup. Only Ireland, with a score of 5.3, can do better.
Jozua Tuisova (centre) looks to dominate the ruck on Sunday. Photo: AP/Laurent Cipriani
Equally important is how England go into this crucial battle — they will need to be confident and precise with the ball to satisfy referee Mathieu Raynal — and where it plays out. Because controlling the territory will not be as easy as it might have been in past clashes with Pacific Island teams. England lost five rucks for 61 to Samoa on Saturday, a success rate of 92 per cent that was the lowest since Borthwick took charge.
In this tournament, Fiji spent only 77 rucks in their half of the field. Fewer numbers were registered only in Japan (76) and Namibia (68). France, perhaps the best example of the «long and go» strategy — essentially striking deep down the middle and waiting to pounce — had 82 rucks behind the halfway line. England, with 96 men, is among 20 countries participating in the World Cup. However, it can be assumed that on Sunday they will want to drop below their average of 24 goals per match.
The Bordeaux burglar on the opening weekend provided a clear example of how a team is keen to avoid getting involved in a penalty shootout, or at least a player knows they should avoid one. As time expired towards the end of the first period, Fiji were close to their opponents' try line when they missed a pass. However, instead of ending the half with a throw-in, Wales played three passes, including a turning offload thrown in by George North.
Matthew Carley struck on the break before Fiji could counter, but Dan Biggar was furious. It's rather unfair that North became the target of Biggar's abusive eruption. North was much less at fault than other teammates, who had more chances to shoot the ball.
Speaking of kicking, England are sixth in the World Cup for kicking per game, averaging 890 metres. Congratulations if you can name all five ahead of them. France tops the table (1079 m). Australia is next (1016m), ahead of Wales (1005m). Georgia (983 m) ranks fourth. In fifth place with 928m is Portugal, which shows that we tend to forget about kicking while the attack from behind is quite fast. Incidentally, Fiji averaged 720 kicking meters per game, 10th in the tournament and perhaps not as low as might be expected.
Borthwick's selection of Marcus Smith at full-back will give England the ability to spread the ball in space. It will also give England another shooting outlet, complementing their midfielders and left-footed Elliot Daly. Outplay or outplay Fiji in the kicking exchanges and England can achieve more lineouts.
Smith gives England another option in the game at full-back but cannot be used creatively. Photo: Getty Images/Dan Mullan
To be honest, the lineup in Fiji was terrible. England, on the other hand, averaged 29.5 maul meters per game, second only to Argentina (37.3 metres), despite Andrew Brace not giving them the honors they felt they deserved in the match from Samoa. Incidentally, Fiji concede an average of 20 meters of maul per match, and England are the third stingiest in this regard, giving up just 2.8 million meters per match through mauls.
The final aspect that England needs to improve , is reliability. inside your half. In August's match against Fiji at Twickenham they trailed by nine losses at halfway, most of the Borthwick era. However, it should be emphasized that quantity does not matter much in this indicator. England made only one turnover in their own half against Scotland in the Six Nations. It was Alex Dombrandt's failure that changed the situation.
Alertness and precision across the board should take England home. The excitement will be a nice bonus. More importantly, they must strive to remain true to themselves.
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