France v England wash-up

Last weekend’s World Cup warm-up was a tough pill to swallow for English players, coaches and fans after going down 25-20 to France in Paris. The match was always going to be a tight contest, and contrary to the final score, the match was far more one sided than it suggests in favour of France.

Set-piece, breakdown and open-play dominance combined with England’s ill-discipline saw France coast to a comfortable lead at the break 15-6 with veteran Freddie Michalak proving to be very accurate off the tee. And not much was different in the second half after a very well constructed try from France’s Yoann Huget which sealed the deal for the French despite a promising comeback from England in the final 10 minutes.

As promising as the final quarter of the match was for England, coach Stuart Lancaster will now have a catalogue of different issues to contend with before he picks his final 31-man squad come the end of August; England will need to bounce back against Ireland on the 6^th September and address the obvious areas of weakness in the squad. There were particular areas of England’s team that needed closer attention during the match: the front row, fullbacks and locks…

Front Row

Joe Marler (4/10) – Marler has cemented himself as England’s starting loose-head prop with confident and powerful performances for England during the Six-Nations. However that was a far cry from what he delivered on Saturday as he most certainly lost his battle in the scrum against Eddy Ben Arous, an experience he will want to put past him as quickly as he can.

It was a lethargic performance from Marler even in the loose where he was rarely looking to carry the ball, a common feature of his game. He also seemed to lack confidence and belief in himself as well as looking a touch unfit. It will pose a dilemma for Lancaster who, prior to Saturday, would have considered Marler his starting loose-head. But that could have changed after poor back-to-back performances.

Tom Youngs (6/10) – It was a mixed game for Tom Youngs on Saturday evening in terms of his overall performance; England were dominated in the scrum, set-piece and breakdown, all areas that a hooker looks to excel in so it wasn’t the most productive of evenings for him.

In addition to that, England’s lineout was diabolical so, for a hooker that will most likely be Lancaster’s starter come the Rugby World Cup, it will be very worrying for him as well as the coach and is something that will be making Lancaster’s head spin in terms of player selection.

Where you cannot fault Youngs is his work rate in open play, particularly in defence where he proved an asset by topping the tackle tally. It will be the lineout that will be the main concern with the lineout very much a factor driven by confidence.

Dan Cole (5/10) – Dan Cole will have been disappointed with his level of rugby, particularly in the scrum where he struggled along with the rest of England’s pack. At the breakdown he was a nuisance as always but lacked discipline and conceded a few unnecessary penalties that put England under pressure. Cole is still England’s number one tight head but will need to improve his work at the scrum if he is to be at his most effective.

Mako Vunipola (6/10) – Mako showed his frailty in the scrum yet again when he replaced Joe Marler in the second half. But he also showed what a promising and penetrating ball carrier he is on attack, playing an important part in Jonathan Joseph’s late try for England. The scrummaging will always hamper his chances of starting for England but he makes a very good impact substitute.

Jamie George (6/10) – The debutant had a very tough match to come into considering England were already on the back foot in the scrum and the set-piece and this showed with some inaccurate work in the lineout. However, the youngster did appear to find his comfort zone and his final 15-20 minutes saw far more composure in the lineout and at the breakdown. It’s impossible to say whether he has done enough to book himself a spot in the squad but going on the performances of the other hookers, he’s in with a chance.

Dave Wilson (6/10) – As always, Dave Wilson came on and gave a workmanlike showing and provided stability in what was a faltering scrum. The jury’s out on whether he will make the final cut considering he has started the last two matches on the bench. But each time he has showed good intensity and has been very willing so that will have impressed Lancaster.

A supremely powerful French scrum and poor pitch conditions made for a particularly bad day at scrum time for England’s front row and they will need to address the issue promptly. Unfortunately for the England coach, no-one really put their hand up and said ‘pick me’ which is a worrying fact with only one warm-up match to go.

Locks

Courtney Lawes/ Joe Launchbury (6/10) – In a match where England were dominated in the scrum, lineout and breakdown, it was always going to be tough for either man to make their mark on the match and it showed. Lawes was fierce in defence as we’re accustomed to and Launchbury tried his best at the breakdown to disrupt any French ball. But neither man will be happy with their performances with both struggling to get any parity with the French pack. They will without doubt be England’s starting locks come the start of the World Cup but they will both want to improve on their performances after Saturday.

Dave Atwood (6/10) – It’s been a tough couple of weeks for Dave Atwood who has had to come from the bench in both matches against France and try to make an impact, a particularly tough feat in Saturday’s match and it showed in his performance where he struggled to make any stand-out contributions.  Atwood definitely has a future with England but it won’t be at this World Cup.

The last ten minutes provided a wealth of positives that England must take from the defeat on Saturday and build on as well as analysing why they were so significantly outmatched in the forwards and look to find a new approach and mentality. England has the luxury of playing their matches at Twickenham at the upcoming Rugby World Cup but if they perform at the same level as they did on Saturday night then they might find themselves watching the Rugby World Cup playoffs from the comfort of their couches. Lancaster has a huge task in front of him over the next week to pick a balanced squad that encompasses the best of what England has to offer.

Fullbacks

Mike Brown (7/10) – In an England performance that didn’t have too many positives to take from, Mike Brown demonstrated his dependability and consistency at fullback for England and had a generally positive match in attack and defensively. There isn’t too much to choose between Brown and Goode but Browne must take the starting 15 jersey purely on the x-factor that he offers.

Danny Cipriani (8/10) – Although he was playing more of a fly-half’s role than that of a fullback, when he came on for Jonny May in the second half, Cipriani really took England by the scruff and gave them direction and intensity that totally transformed the team. His footwork and distribution was world class and he capped his 20 minute appearance with an excellently finished try late in the second half. Mimicking the ideas of Sir Clive Woodward, even though he wasn’t on long Cipriani really made a strong claim to be considered for a spot in the squad particularly if he can have that kind of impact. Lancaster would be silly to not strongly consider Cipriani in England’s final 31-man squad.

The performances of Brown and Cipriani were definitely ones that Lancaster will have taken as very positive, particularly when England struggled a lot to develop any kind of momentum and go forward. It’s now up to these individuals to take this forward and build on it.