The Farrell-Smith axis in the spotlight again
PAUL REES COMMENT
OWEN Farrell bristled when asked, again, about his partnership with Marcus Smith. It was a team game, he pointed out, and the performance against Japan was a few steps up from the one against Argentina six days before.
Seven tries would suggest England's attacking axis was the basis for victory, but it lay in defence when Japan were put under so much pressure, with England rushing up in the outside centre channel to prevent next year's World Cup group opponents from gaining width, that even a team known for its capacity to move the ball quickly under pressure crumbled and made a number of handling errors.
For all the fixation on Smith and Farrell, and there were again hints that the Harlequins outside-half is still adjusting to a more mechanical approach than he is used to at club level, the foundation for victory was laid in the back row which exerted such pressure on Japan at the breakdown that they were often turned over or had to kick the ball away hurriedly.
England's third and final try in the first half, which came after Japan had enjoyed their best period of the match having been 17-0 down after 23 minutes, came after Tom Curry hounded full-back Ryohei Yamanaka a few metres from the line and from the turnover, Sam Simmonds supplied the scoring pass to Guy Porter.
Curry is one of those players whose best work tends to go unnoticed. He made 24 tackles, more than any other player. The next two on the list were his back row colleagues, Simmonds and Maro Itoje, and while attention has been lavished on whether the Smith-Farrell combination is one based on hope rather than expectation, it will be a secondary question until England deliver quick ball from the breakdown on demand.
England had two foragers in the back row in the World Cup, Curry and Sam Underhill, but the latter has largely been injured since and after losing the 2019 World Cup final to South Africa, Eddie Jones has emulated their back row formation then which included Pieter-Steph du Toit on the blindside.
He had started his career in the second row but, like another lock, Franco Mostert, was redeployed in the back row, adding height and weight.
“It was a day when the direct approach delivered victory”
Courtney Lawes has been used on the blindside since the last World Cup, when he was regarded as a second row. In his absence this month, Jones has turned to Maro Itoje even though it has meant bringing in new caps to the second row, Alex Coles and, against Japan, Dave Ribbans.
Itoje is among the leading second rows in the world and England looked to have lost something against Argentina when he was in the back row. A player used to playing a starring role found himself among the extras, but against Japan he was at the forefront of England's charge, ripping the ball from carriers and, with Curry, putting Japan under such pressure at the breakdown that their attacking game became stuck in first gear.
Japan do not carry the threat of England's next two opponents, New Zealand and South Africa, but the approach to those games will be similar to yesterday. For all England's first try, which had shades of Emiliano Boffelli's for Argentina at Twickenham six days before in the way Freddie Steward went around defenders rather than through them, it was a day when the direct approach delivered victory.
Ellis Genge set the tone at the first scrum, winning the first of three penalties, and because Japan were under such pressure up front and at the breakdown, where Jonny Hill augmented the back row, their running game struggled to get beyond the walking stage and a side which in the World Cup had shown a rare ability to get the ball wide under pressure, as Ireland can testify, was restricted to counter-attacks from kicks which England's chasing largely thwarted.
England are a stronger team for Curry's presence but, like Underhill, his appearances have been rationed by injuries: he only lasted 40 minutes in the summer series against Australia, but against Japan he showed his inestimable worth, destroying Japan's weaponry on an afternoon when England's back row held sway.
There had been elements of individualism against Argentina, perhaps not surprising given it was England's first match of the campaign. This time, the team came first and the likes of Simmonds and Kyle Sinckler, forwards who like to get the ball in their hands, mucked in and had high tackle counts in a match which saw Japan enjoy the bulk of possession and territory.
It meant that Smith was able to play with more freedom. He scored two tries and showed he is rugby's equivalent of a goal poacher, on hand to finish off moves. Jones said afterwards he would be persisting with the Smith-Farrell combination, although Henry Slade's cameo from the bench will revive calls him to be paired in the midfield with Manu Tuilagi with Farrell at outside-half.
Farrell is a more effective 10 with a playmaker like Slade outside him but Smith, as he has shown for Harlequins, is at his most threatening running his own show. There were times against Japan when he seemed weighed down by instruction, kicking to little effect rather than trusting his instincts.
Smith is a player who makes things happen and the notion of dropping him is not one that a team looking to close the gap on the teams above them in the rankings before next year's World Cup should be thinking about, yet Farrell showed against Japan why he is a player very few coaches would want to be without.
England's best form of attack was defence and he led that, adding some flourish in attack. His combination with Smith has the best chance of working if the back row functions as it did against Japan, which was in marked contrast to the Six Nations when the outside-half largely had to work off dreadfully slow possession and very few turnovers. And it has to if they are to make an imprint on the World Cup in France.
