Test debuts are always nervy affairs and not just for players. Take Joe El-Abd, England’s new defence coach, who will be trying to give off the commanding air of a man fully in control of his brief at the ground formerly known as Twickenham on Saturday while dealing with his own kaleidoscope of butterflies.
This will feel very different to El-Abd’s one taste of being part of an England coaching team – in the non-cap game against the Barbarians in 2019.
The atmosphere – always special for the visit of New Zealand – will be tingly, invigorating, life-enhancing. He will be drinking it in but at the same moment trying to shut it out and concentrate on the job in hand.
His mind, if he allows it to stray, will race towards the ‘what-ifs’. The nice version – what if England can turn over the All Blacks for the first time since the 2019 World Cup semi-final in his first game? And the nasty one – what if New Zealand turn it on and ask questions his defence cannot answer.
Before kick-off, El-Abd will watch his new charges in the warm-up, analysing each movement, watching each realignment trying to will his strategy to seep into their bones.
But the thing about coaching is that ultimately you are just an onlooker. The moment the players take the field, you relinquish control.
His fate lies in their hands.
For a new defence coach – particularly one needing to prove he isn’t just in place as Steve Borthwick’s mate – the challenge could not be stiffer.
The All Blacks in front of a full house in the first Test of the autumn brings with it an awful lot of scrutiny. For a new defence coach – particularly one needing to prove he isn’t just in place as Steve Borthwick’s mate – the challenge could not be stiffer.
This All Blacks vintage may not be the finest in history but like any New Zealand side they can attack. The 10 tries against Japan last weekend took their total to 39 in eight Tests since they last faced England in the summer.
England succeeded in knocking the All Blacks out of their attacking stride to a degree in the summer even if New Zealand still narrowly prevailed in the series but that was when Felix Jones was defence coach and his blitz was the talk of the town.
Jones’s decision to hand in his notice, hot on the heels of head of strength and conditioning Aled Walters, is the uneasy back story to this England autumn campaign. It was inevitable that scrutiny would follow over the state of Borthwick’s England environment on the back of that double blow, just as it did with the constant personnel churn under his predecessor Eddie Jones.
Teddie – Tall Eddie – was the jibe levelled at Borthwick over his demanding style. For the England coach to then shore up his management team with one of his wedding ushers invited further questions. Rugby is a small world but not that small. So El-Abd has a lot of eyeballs on him this weekend.
The good news for England is that he is not simply some bloke who caught the bouquet. While he might be unfamiliar to Premiership watchers as a coach, the former Bristol captain has proven himself over the past decade as an overachievement specialist in the Top 14.
He was defence coach – and forwards coach – when Castres confounded the odds to win the 2018 title and has carried out the same dual role at Oyonnax. He is now their director of rugby, trying to win promotion from Pro D2.
In an ideal world England would have preferred the weakest of that quartet – the Brave Blossoms – first up. No such luck for them or El-Abd who is straight in at the deep end.
The split responsibility for the rest of the season, before he comes on board fully with England, is a complication but Borthwick knows El-Abd well enough from their time as flatmates at Bath University together to believe he can handle it.
It is to be hoped El-Abd’s French employment has been boxed off successfully for the coming month. He does not need any distractions with what is coming with world champions South Africa also on the guest list at the Allianz Stadium as well as Australia and Japan.
The scales are always weighed in favour of the southern hemisphere touring sides at the start of an autumn series because of the cohesion they have been able to build up together over the season. In an ideal world England would have preferred the weakest of that quartet – the Brave Blossoms – first up. No such luck for them or El-Abd who is straight in at the deep end.
There are inevitable adjustments to be made when a new defence coach arrives and that can have consequences. In Felix Jones’s first game England leaked three tries to Italy in the Six Nations. Scotland ran in four when his predecessor Kevin Sinfield took over the defence two years earlier. With respect to both, the All Blacks attack carries a different threat level.
The simplest approach, given the time constraints, would be for El-Abd to keep change to a minimum and use the same defence system as Jones. Such a move would guarantee continuity. However, every coach wants to put their own stamp on matters and El-Abd expressed his desire to move the England defence on. So while England will remain aggressive in their outlook, expect some degree of evolution.
Defence is not just about where you position your chess pieces of course. It is a blend of the tactical, physical and emotional. So as much as the system itself is important, just as crucial is the relationship between the defence coach and the defenders.
While ferocious commitment can be taken for granted in international rugby, there is a subliminal extra layer over and above every defence coach seeks. Some may choose fear, others love but whichever way they go about it, it needs the human element to crowbar out those crucial extra ounces of effort.
El-Abd is an energetic character and a people person but he has only just arrived as an outsider into the England environment. Of the team from that Barbarians game, only Marcus Smith, Ben Curry, Alex Dombrandt and Alex Mitchell – who is injured – played under him five years ago. Starting from scratch, he needs a period working alongside the players to earn their trust.
On all fronts then he needs time and patience but time and patience are the commodities in shortest supply for a coach at Test level. If things do get a bit leaky against the All Blacks, there will be no honeymoon period.
It is going to be the greatest day of El-Abd’s coaching career this weekend but that doesn’t necessarily mean it will be a good one.
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