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Mitchell hints England's much-maligned habit is a thing of the past
By PA
Alex Mitchell insists England have set the standard for future performances after dismantling Wales 68-14 in Cardiff on Saturday.
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Steve Borthwick’s men finished Guinness Six Nations runners-up after a record 10-try rout at Principality Stadium and have made clear progress through a tournament which began with a comprehensive defeat in Dublin.
Boos rang out at Allianz Stadium for their kick-heavy tactics used against Scotland in round three, but they have since demolished Italy and Wales by playing with ambition and conviction.
“We had a great mixture of our attacking game and our kicking game. And then we wanted to move the ball. That’s a good blueprint to push forward with,” Northampton scrum-half Mitchell said.
“Our attack’s always been there but on occasions we don’t go to it, we just go to the aerial battle. We need to move the ball to the edge and we’ve got the players to do that.
“Look at our back three and our centres – they’re quality and if you give them one-on-one chances, they’re normally going to beat their man and get us on the front foot.
“It’s an exciting time for us. Sometimes we get a lot of heat but it’s fantastic to get a win like that, especially in a stadium like this which is a tough place to go.”
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England have flourished since Fin Smith was installed as starting fly-half against France in round two, reeling off four successive wins including from tight positions against Les Bleus and Scotland.
Smith now looks established in the number-10 jersey after a series of performances in which he has dictated play with calm authority and Mitchell, his Northampton team-match, believes he is firmly in contention for British and Irish Lions selection this summer.
“Fin’s a classy operator. I’m always still shocked that he’s only 22-years-old. He’s been quality for Saints for a couple of years now,” Mitchell said.
“And coming into this set-up, he’s not changed at all – he’s still a massive leader.
“He makes my job so easy and he’s been quality in the four games he’s started. He’s got a bright future. He’s definitely in the mix for the Lions, but I’m not selecting the squad.”
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I’ll believe it, when i see it against the top 4 sides or even Scotland or Argentina. We have been here before, beating Italy at home and this wales side by overpowering them isn’t a realistic barometer of were they are, given their performances pre-six nations and in the first three games.
Well lets hope so. England have developed a very strong kicking game and I'm all for them going to it on a regular basis to get into the right areas of the field but they need to find the right balance. They've been far too predictable and far too low risk. Tindall recently summed up my thoughts on this... “rugby is a pressure game, it's about building phases”. Against Scotland they almost never went over 2 phases, it was super weird. None of the top 4 sides are playing in this manner, I don't see where the precedent is for this staccato style of play. We've got an exceptional group of loose forwards developing, let's make use of that quick ball! Hopefully the Welsh game is a turning point and the coaches will trust the players to take a few more risks. It's not that I have anything against kicking in test matches, it's absolutely essential that we kick well but we do that already, it's the rest of the attack which has been missing. This relentless kicking isn't the way the best sides win test matches these days. Kick well, kick lots but we need to be setup to take advantage of quick ball and defensive misalignments around the halfway line and we need to build pressure by going multiphase in the 22 instead of grubber kicking it or crossfielding with such high regularity.
In some ways, Smith F and Smith M, would be better going to Argentina, where they can develop England strategy and tactics under Borthwick, Wigglesworth and Ford!
The latter will be invaluable to England in a dual role (player/coach) going forward.