England progressing in attack and defence – but are doing the opposite in scrum

Some defeats feel less painful with time to reflect. Others linger and continue to ache. Unfortunately for England, their losses in New Zealand will probably fall into the latter category.

This is largely because both games followed a similar pattern. In each of them, England had enough opportunities to prevail. Yet in Dunedin and then Auckland, they failed to score a single point in the last half-hour.

One hopes that Steve Borthwick and his coaches allow themselves a decent holiday at the end of an exhausting season. Soon enough, though, attention will turn towards where England must improve to win tight Tests against top opponents, as they should have done at least once against the All Blacks. Here is an early assessment of the major areas.

Attack

A mixed bag to begin. Curiously, it appears England have the opposite problem to the one that has dogged them in the past. Historically, with Manu Tuilagi in their midfield, they could launch incisive, powerful strike moves before losing impetus as phases built.

Currently, they can impart plenty of variety, especially with George Furbank as a secondary playmaker at full-back. They might want one more burly carrier in the pack to complement Chandler Cunningham-South, but forwards are stepping up. Fin Baxter was excellent in the loose this weekend.

Marcus Smith’s try-scoring kick-passes, to Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and then Tommy Freeman, were both beautifully weighted. Freeman’s finish summed up how his aerial skills have been used by England. The 23-year-old is moved off the left wing to chase restarts on the right, and slipped to that flank to climb above Mark Telea. A few phases earlier, a roaming Feyi-Waboso had carried closer to the left flank:

Beauden Barrett mopped up a few attacking kicks late on, but when they do gather momentum, either from set-piece platforms or on kick-returns, England are a handful. In the 53rd minute, following a line-out on the back of Ben Earl’s carry, they overloaded the All Blacks.

The width of Alex Mitchell’s pass to Marcus Smith took out the four defenders closest to the ruck and England could feel seriously miffed that the officials did not examine Telea’s actions. Smith’s pass to Freeman, which would have set up a three-on-one, looks to be knocked down:

Far too often, however, England were inaccurate in first-phase situations. A fumble from Ollie Lawrence after a first-half scrum was far from the only launch play that went awry in a trend that continued from the first Test.

Ollie Sleightholme’s cameo at Eden Park, featuring this sizzling outside break, reinforced the explosive athleticism that is now available to England:

Everything will be easier if England can sort out their strikes. Often, this hinges upon the connection between a No 8 and their centres. Unless cohesion develops and solves the matter, this conundrum could require Borthwick to add a back-row bopper or to revisit the midfield partnership of Lawrence and Henry Slade. Might Freeman eventually move to 13?

Verdict: Promising, though greater cohesion and consistency needed to trouble the best.

Defence

Had England been told on the flight over that they would concede a combined total of 40 points across two Tests against the All Blacks, Borthwick’s charges would have been delighted.

They are totally committed to the blitz system of Felix Jones as New Zealand’s first line-out of the second Test underlined. Look how narrow Feyi-Waboso is to begin with…

…yet he is able to readjust from the initial press and tracks an uncertain launch to eventually force a knock-on from Stephen Perofeta.

Some extraordinary scrambling, not just early on but also when New Zealand were 21-17 in front and striving to kill off the game, epitomised England’s collective fight.

Feyi-Waboso was caught napping for Telea’s first try and England have become vulnerable in some transition situations. Furbank seems considerably better suited to the demands of full-back in the system, though it must be said that Freddie Steward could have done very little about Telea’s second try. Dan Cole and Baxter were on his inside shoulder and New Zealand picked off the mismatches.

Sleightholme is obviously being taught to be a seek-and-destroy wing, like Feyi-Waboso, while Raffi Quirke and Jack van Poortvliet could be given licence to pressurise key playmakers from scrum-half. We saw hints of that from Harry Randall in Tokyo. Joe Carpenter may grow into a more suitable deputy for Furbank.

Forwards grafted extremely hard to maintain the integrity of the defensive line and control the gain-line. To nit-pick, England are possibly short on jackalling threats. New Zealand won all 68 of their rucks at Eden Park and Earl conceded a penalty for overbalancing.

More breakdown disruption, allied to rapid line speed, crunching tackles and desperate scrambling, would make for a potent combination.

Verdict: Very good and could become even better.

Scrum

The mere presence of Joe Marler and Dan Cole among the touring party was enough of a signpost to indicate that Borthwick was concerned about bleeding scrum penalties. Frankly, those fears were realised.

Ethan de Groot milked two out of Will Stuart in the first quarter and Nic Berry might have pinged England more instead of asking New Zealand’s scrum-halves to move the ball away from collapsed set-pieces. Earl’s running from the base was compromised by a creaking scrum, too.

Baxter, who has a fine future, lasted 70 minutes before Bevan Rodd, having just earned a turnover with some clever counter-rucking, was overpowered by Fletcher Newell.

Ellis Genge and Baxter should be an effective one-two punch on the loosehead side this autumn, provided both are fit and Borthwick is happy to move on from Marler. On the tighthead side, it looks like England are waiting for a hero to ride in and seize the No 3 shirt. By 2027, a few candidates might well have emerged from the current crop of under-20 bruisers.

Verdict: A serious concern, though Baxter is a gem.

Line-out

In the absence of Ollie Chessum, with Cunningham-South so palpably learning on the job and aiming to add jumping to his other assets, England were relying heavily on Maro Itoje. Their caller delivered handsomely, especially from a defensive standpoint. Scott Barrett will be delighted to see the back of him.

Cunningham-South is not yet as accomplished a technician as Courtney Lawes, but he grew more confident while dovetailing with Itoje and George Martin. This was a tidy piece of work in a high-pressure scenario. Seven days previously, a similar throw from Jamie George had bounced off the back of Cunningham-South’s bonce:

Chessum will surely return to England’s first-choice 23, either as a blindside flanker behind Itoje and Martin or as a lock option. Another caller, he will strengthen the line-out. New Zealand were the more effective maulers across the two matches. Borthwick will be eager to fortify England’s driving game over the next year.

Verdict: Fantastic in defence, a pass mark in attack.

Leadership

While the appointment of vice-captains can seem superfluous and irrelevant, Itoje’s appointment did appear significant. Looking to the future, this has the feel of Eddie Jones’s first four-year cycle, where the captaincy changed hands before the 2019 World Cup.

George keeps emptying the tank and racking up huge tackle counts. He is an elite thrower and obviously a galvanising presence who has helped to engender a healthy environment in which youngsters are able to thrive immediately. How long, though, will he remain as England’s starting hooker? Theo Dan, Curtis Langdon and Gabriel Oghre will push hard along with other candidates.

Picking the bones out of on-field decision-making is far easier from a sofa, with the benefit of hindsight. England’s kicking did look iffy at times, either releasing pressure on the All Blacks or allowing them to pick off tired chasers. Here, with several backs poised on the short side, Marcus Smith hoists a high ball for just Itoje and Earl to pursue. Damian McKenzie gathers easily and instigates a carving counter that should have yielded a try:

England lost the penalty count 10-7 in Dunedin and 11-6 in Auckland. At the breakdown, especially, it felt as though the All Blacks were given a longer leash. In the 45th minute, well inside his own 22, Ardie Savea was allowed to wriggle clear from a tackle despite significantly slowing England’s ruck-speed. A turnover followed two phases later.

It is hard to know whether England could have done more to appease the officials, although other setbacks were entirely avoidable. Here, in another pivotal moment, Berry beckons the tourists back from the five-metre line…

…yet Cole and Itoje creep back over it to give up a free-kick.

Finally, the decision to kick for touch in the 78th minute, rather than slotting three points and giving themselves a chance for the win, has been questioned by some critics. George backed his side to maul for a draw, and they came up just short. In truth, England should not have left it that late. Still, they can take plenty from a fascinating series.

Verdict: Experience will have been invaluable for the half-backs and George has done admirably with the captaincy. The future is up to Borthwick.