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England have embraced the kick-and-chase strategy that almost beat South Africa, but they have not played it to the same standard they achieved in that gameRvS.Media\/Sylvie Failletaz\/Getty Images<\/p>\nThe last time England played in Paris, in 2023, they almost pulled off one of the greatest shocks in the history of the Rugby World Cup. In the quarter-finals, South Africa had stunned the home nation, beating France in a game that was epic in every way.<\/p>\n
England produced an inspired performance and came within one point and two minutes of shocking the Springboks to reach the final. In the process the team became lost to \u201cthe process\u201d of kick-and-chase rugby \u2014 the theory being that a limited team can upset the odds if they boot the ball often enough into enemy territory with sufficient accuracy. It got a team that made rugby into a soulless and ugly sport to third\u00a0in the world. You still hear that defence all the time.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a theory that isn\u2019t without truth. England\u2019s management have frequently explained to us exactly how number of kicks multiplied by \u201cmetres made\u201d can upset the longest odds, as was so nearly the case in the 2023 World Cup semi-final. As with conspiracy theories, the kernel of truth is often wrapped up in unmentioned complexities.<\/p>\n
The weather is the great unmentionable of that day. The heavens opened and the rugby gods did everything within their powers to usurp the rightful order. The Springboks had a game of growing variety. That variety continues to this day. Yes, they kicked the leather off the ball in their magnificent record-breaking 43-10 demolition of New Zealand in Wellington in September. But they also played some of the most pyrotechnic rugby ever seen as they turned the broken-field ball into dazzling rugby.<\/p>\n
England, in their 12-match winning run, never aspired to this quality \u2014 and fair enough, they are not double world champions. Yet they dipped their toes into the Springboks\u2019 world of kick-and-run rugby, but all too briefly. When the pressure came on, Steve Borthwick\u2019s men were all too ready to revert to kick and chase at the cost of the creative.<\/p>\n
Maybe the teams that kick most have the most \u201cwinning\u201d statistics \u2014 as we are often told by people who confuse statistics with strategy \u2014 but England\u2019s theory doesn\u2019t take them all the way. Under pressure, the handbrakes have inevitably come on and England have skidded to a stop. But to point the finger at the obsession with kicking is to risk being reminded that this was the game plan that almost beat the Springboks.<\/p>\n
England have embraced the kick-and-chase strategy that almost beat South Africa, but they have not played it to the same standard they achieved in that gameRvS.Media\/Sylvie Failletaz\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
And you know what? If that plan is executed at the Stade de France on Saturday night as precisely as it was during the 2023 semi-final, England may deprive France of the Six Nations title. But it will need to be of a standard England have not reached since that game against the Springboks. Oh yes, and there\u2019s the rain. Watching the 2023 game on a television screen in England was to be unaware of quite how biblical the conditions were, how impossible it was to attempt anything but kick and chase.<\/p>\n
Again, credit to England. They played the elements superbly while the team with the all-round game were dragged to the brink of elimination. On a dry day, South Africa would have waltzed it, no matter how good England\u2019s kicking.<\/p>\n
But England, with a rookie head coach (at Test level), finished third in the tournament. What a great effort. It was the dullest World Cup campaign in every way bar George Ford\u2019s three drop-kicks against Argentina (down a red-carded Tom Curry, that was brilliant decision-making) and the precision with which they utilised the conditions to counter the Springboks\u2019 superiority.<\/p>\n
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Borthwick\u2019s dull-eyed rugby by the numbers was supposed to be lead England to a title showdown in Paris Antonietta Baldassarre\/Insidefoto\/LightRocket via Getty Images<\/p>\n
So here\u2019s the \u201cexpert\u201d theory reiterated. On Saturday night, England should kick every ball either deep into the French 22 or box-kick the beauty out of the game in pursuit of a win. They should certainly do so if there\u2019s a monsoon hitting Paris. Otherwise they should release those handbrakes that have the England fans squealing at the paucity of anything but percentage rugby.<\/p>\n
Elliot Daly \u2014 in theory \u2014 was the right choice to replace Freddie Steward for the Italy match because he fitted the bill as a full back who can exploit the space created by teams that clear their lines loosely due to kicking and territorial pressure. Instead of offering England that lovely Saracens arcing running line of his, his first instinct was to dab the ball back into the opposing 22. <\/p>\n
This week two former internationals have told me how the main problem is a failure to turn this clich\u00e9d \u201cred zone\u201d pressure into points. Dropped balls, bad decisions, blah, blah\u2026 the inability to turn broken-field ball into tries isn\u2019t mentioned, yet the counterattack from the kicking game is part of the grand Borthwick<\/a> strategy.<\/p>\n
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Daly started against Italy but the kick-heavy strategy stopped him showing the qualities that make him such a dangerous player for Saracens Danilo Di Giovanni\/NurPhoto\/Shutterstock <\/p>\n