Harlequins and Northampton are at the forefront of the exciting style of rugby played in the Premier League. Photo: Getty Images/Bob Bradford
Not many of Eddie Jones' statements stand the test of time, which is not surprising given his penchant for anecdotes and statistics, but from time to time the former England manager has shown remarkable prescience.
If you dare, cast your mind back four years to the 2020 Autumn Nations Cup, which I would describe as the worst rugby tournament I have covered. Against the already depressing backdrop of almost empty stadiums due to the Covid pandemic, rugby somehow looked even more depressing. Defense was everything, offense was the dirty word. England players have spoken openly about avoiding line breaks. George Ford called possession of the ball “a time bomb.”
Jones, however, was unfazed by the chorus of criticism over the quality of rugby at the tournament. “We go through cycles,” Jones said. “The game is cyclical. We go through cycles of attack and defense. And that’s the beauty of our game – it doesn’t sit still. We go through these periods in the game. The next cycle will always be an attack cycle, so let's enjoy the defensive cycle we have at the moment and look forward to the attack cycle when it comes.”
This cycle appears to have ended with South Africa's victory last year. A world championship dominated by defense and kicking. Including England. Springboks assistant coach Felix Jones, who has since been hired as England's defense coach, gave a pithy description of Steve Borthwick's team in the documentary Chasing the Sun: “If I could sum up their soul in two words, it would be statistics – or “Moneyball” – and kicks. a game. That's all.”
Since then, it seems that a new dawn has risen with England among the teams that have emerged in this strange new light of attacking rugby, finishing their Six Nations campaign with seven tries against Ireland and France. As my colleague Charles Richardson noted not entirely approvingly last week, there has also been an explosion of tries in the Premier League this season.
However, we are now approaching the end of the season and entering a possible turning point that may well determine the direction of England's movement in the next cycle.
Marcus Smith has played a key role in transforming Harlequins and England into more dynamic forces. Photo: Getty Images/Lionel Khan
For the first time in eight years, the Premier League's Champions Cup semi-final features two fresh representatives from Saracens and Exeter Chiefs. Northampton Saints and Harlequins are the standard bearers for the exciting and exciting rugby that was on display at Twickenham last week. It should be noted that both sides are of an underrated standard, but as prop Will Collier said after Quins' crazy 42-41 quarter-final win over Bordeaux, they want to prove that ambition and adventure can lead to winning the big games.< "I think it shows that if you have the foundation and you want to play rugby, anything is possible," Collier said. “The Northamptons of this world and other teams that want to play rugby and want to go out and score goals. We hit when we have to, but we play when we can. This is the key. When it starts, we'll go."
Both face a tough task in their home cities of Leinster and Toulouse, but a win for either would be further proof that their style can succeed on the biggest stages.
This will lead to the Premier League play-offs, where Queens, Northampton, Bath and Bristol Bears could also deal another blow to this new wave of thrill-seekers.
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And then there are the Saracens. For much of the past decade, Saracens have operated like the Kardashians, exerting a remarkable influence on English rugby in terms of personnel and philosophy. Two years ago, stung by defeat to Borthwick's Leicester side in the 2022 Premier League final, Saracens players called on their coaches to change their philosophy: to move from a team that wanted to keep fighting to a team that began to strike their own shots.< /p>
“Sarri have always been very focused on territory and defense and they have won a lot of trophies that way,” said Harlequins scrum-half Danny Care. “Then they said, 'We're going to attack,' and everyone else followed suit. It changed the dial.”
Owen Farrell scores the decisive penalty for Saracens during their comfortable win over Bath Credit “: Getty Images/Michael Steele
But the tide seemed to change again last Friday night when Saracens thrashed Bath 15-12 in a game that was less exciting than compelling. Taking a page from their old book, Saracens scored a season-high 48 times. Interestingly, representatives from both camps independently described this game as a “test match” in terms of tactics and intensity, a fact that did not go unnoticed by Borthwick and his attack coach Richard Wigglesworth, who were in the stands at the Rec.
Whether this was a one-off tactical masterclass by Owen Farrell to exploit Bath's specific weaknesses, or a return to type, remains to be seen.
The victory gave Saracens control of the race for the home semi-final , in which they have not lost for 11 years. Just as history is defined by winners, teams who lift trophies at the end of a season tend to have a huge impact on the direction of a national team.
Will England head to Japan, currently coached by Jones and Nova Zealand will be cashing in and kicking this summer, ambitions and adventures may well be decided in the next few weeks.
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