Both England and Ireland have had muddled Six Nations campaigns so far.
England went into the championship as one of two favourites to lift the title. All was well in their comfortable dismantling of Wales in round one, but then came the wall of Scottish neurosis as England fell in the Calcutta Cup again to their auld enemy. Only the scrum went well against Scotland last weekend, as their 12-match winning run ended with an abrupt halt.
– Six Nations talking points: England need response vs. Ireland
– Players to watch: Henry Pollock, Louis Bielle-Biarrey, more
– Power rankings: England drop, but by how much?
What about Ireland? Well, the team who have for so long looked comfortable in their own skin were comfortably outplayed against France in round one. The list of Irish absentees is long, their front-row unfamiliar but the expectations remain the same. They got a key win over Italy on Saturday but it was unconvincing, the sort where they needed a dab of fortune and the impact of the bench to shift the match in their favour.
So as Ireland head to the Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, on Saturday, it feels like a pivotal match. The hosts are favourites and Steve Borthwick will be expecting a response from his players, but a defeat would raise questions on whether their growth has frozen before it bore fruit.
For Andy Farrell, a return of one win from three will only serve to give those voices of dissent more ammunition amid concerns over the shallowness of Ireland’s squad depth.
England: Backing continuity and euphoria
The message from within the England camp is there is no need to panic after Saturday’s 31-20 defeat to Scotland. England were comfortably outplayed in every facet of the match, bar the scrum. Players made uncharacteristic errors, key figures like Maro Itoje and Sam Underhill weren’t at their usual level, and they played 30 minutes with 14 men due to Henry Arundell’s two yellow cards. In previous regimes, we would have seen wholesale changes. But Borthwick is different; there is a different feel around this group.
The feedback from the camp, according to ESPN sources, is the players failed to find the same level of emotional intensity as Scotland on Saturday. Scotland threw everything at England – the history of the fixture, the frustration of their recent performances and the desire to ease the pressure on their beleaguered head coach Gregor Townsend.
England lacked width, were second best in the collision area and failed to contain Finn Russell. But above all, it came down to emotion. So that perhaps explains why Borthwick has gone with Henry Pollock and Tom Curry from the off this week. He made three changes with Ollie Lawrence also starting in the centres, the Bath man charged with getting his hands on the ball and carrying with the same ferocity as he did in November against the All Blacks.
The Pollock and Curry calls are fascinating. Curry makes sense — he hasn’t made his usual impact off the bench in the past couple of matches, and having a British & Irish Lion at blindside starting against what will be a hugely experienced Ireland pack is sound logic.
But for Pollock, Borthwick is looking at him to make an impact, both on the pitch and in the stands. “He’s larger than life, isn’t he? Just wants to do well, wants to express himself,” Borthwick said.
“He is so intrinsically driven, he is that character. What you see is exactly what you get. He gets people excited … He can bring euphoria to people that not many players can. I will challenge him to express himself, be himself.”
Borthwick is aware Ireland will try and wind up the 21-year-old, but is confident he will “thrive” in the face of provocation.
As former Ireland and British & Irish Lions back-row Stephen Ferris told ESPN this week: “[Pollock’s] a guy you would love to have in your team. Still unsure of best position, but someone with that ability should have the license to go off script a bit.”
Previous regimes may also have jettisoned Arundell. But a return of four tries in two matches, and his desire to improve, has seen Borthwick retain him. Arundell’s 30-minute absence was one of the reasons why Scotland had so much joy out wide last weekend and you could have forgiven had he been banished from the 23. But that’s not his way. Instead, Arundell had the arm round him in the knowledge that Saturday would have hurt him and he’ll be the better for it.
“I can’t wait to see him have the ball in his hands,” Borthwick said “He was bitterly disappointed after Saturday and I think he just wants to play again.”
This is a test of Borthwick’s player management, but also the collective ability to get themselves into the emotional zone necessary to knock over Ireland. “I’m backing players there and I want players to feel backed,” Borthwick said. “I’m backing them to put in a performance that they’ll want to put in after last week.”
A defeat would be a setback for England, in a championship that promised so much. After their 12-match winning run, which included impressive victories over France and the All Blacks, England need a win on Saturday to re-affirm the progress they are widely perceived to be making and prove Scotland was just a blip, an unfortunate day, rather than England being found out.
Ireland: Chopping and changing to find form
Any sense of Irish experimentation and depth testing has been momentarily banished. The decision to axe Sam Prendergast from the 23 is ruthless. The recall of Jamison Gibson-Park, Tadhg Beirne, Tadhg Furlong and Josh van der Flier was expected but also signals the return of familiar, dependable Irish British & Irish Lions. And starting Jack Crowley is a sign the balance of power at No.10 has shifted into his favour. All that after a week dominated by the fly-half discourse.
Crowley last started for Ireland in their defeat against New Zealand in Chicago. Since then, it’s been Prendergast’s jersey. But the debate over who should be Ireland’s premier No.10 has been a huge part of the narrative around the team this tournament. The France defeat showed Ireland’s lack of depth. With Andrew Porter, Paddy McCarthy, Mack Hansen, Hugo Keenan, Ryan Baird and Robbie Henshaw all injured and Bundee Aki suspended, Ireland were a distant second best as they fell 36-14 in Paris. Talk of this being the start of a dip begun.
Against Italy, Ireland shuffled things up, recalled winger Robert Baloucoune impressed, but their scrum was dominated. They still came through but unconvincingly with Italy leaving tries out there. The pivotal passage where Ireland looked more assured started with the second-half introduction of Crowley and Gibson-Park.
After the defeat of Italy, Farrell briefly let his poker face slip to launch a defence of Prendergast and Crowley, telling the public to tone down their social media abuse surrounding the selection call. It was uncharacteristic of Farrell, but also shows how he’s tired of this debate. Crowley looked more assured against Italy, but Prendergast has long been the fancied choice as Ireland’s long-term No.10. All this comes against the vacuum left in that position by Johnny Sexton. It takes a while to find a new king for the fly-half throne. All the talk was about that, and not how Ireland’s scrum was obliterated against Italy, with Furlong hurled into the air on one occasion.
Ahead of England, Farrell’s selection was clinical. “I am liking lots of change each week,” one former Ireland international told ESPN. “Lads that are just playing ok are dropped.” It’s Crowley who has the keys to No.10, with Prendergast jettisoned with Ciaran Frawley named on the bench.
“Sam’s a fantastic international player and he’s on a journey and is learning and that will never stop,” Farrell told the media on Thursday. “That is the same for Ciaran Frawley. We have talked all along about the four lads competing with each other and the balance is right for the team this weekend.”
Farrell said the decision to back Crowley and Frawley came off training, but also confidence.
Elsewhere, it was harsh on Ulster blindside Corman Izuchukwu who showed some impressive moments against Italy, while Edwin Edogbu was also left out. He was subject to racist abuse online as he made his debut last weekend. “It’s all about how he is and affecting him or not,” Farrell said Thursday. “He is fine thankfully but it’s disgusting. There is no need for it in society. I didn’t read it and I didn’t want to I don’t want to give people anything to think they deserve that. As far as I’m concerned Edwin is fine, he is strong and he has been brought up in the right way.”
Farrell opted for a five-three split on the bench, England going with 6-2. But as you looked through the selection calls, what was never in doubt was the decision to start Stuart McCloskey, 33, at inside centre. He’s been outstanding there for Ireland across their two games, having so often seen Aki, Henshaw and Garry Ringrose preferred there. For all the changes enforced and juggled during this Six Nations, McCloskey’s inclusion has paid off.
When it comes down to how much Saturday means, for Farrell, a win would ease the concern starting to build around the long-term prospects of this group. They have experienced wonderful success, but their depth has been tested this championship. For so long, the names picked week to week were familiar — Farrell backing the best players to get the job done. True strength in depth was rarely tested, but we’ve seen that this Six Nations and the France result was alarming. They have the chance to put that right against England but their scrum must front up. It’ll be a game also contested in the air, but expect the set piece to be pivotal.
“If Ireland are winning convincingly and delivering strong performances, the outside noise quickly fades into the background,” Ferris told ESPN. “But right now everything seems to be feeding the negativity. A win on Saturday would give Irish fans that feel good factor that’s been lacking recently.”
