Following England’s 27-10 victory over Argentina, here are our five takeaways from the Rugby World Cup Pool D opener in Marseille.
The top line
England’s 14 men delivered a display of massive character against all the odds as they drew upon the experience of a myriad of caps to kick Argentina to defeat in their opening game of the World Cup, courtesy of the magnificent boot of George Ford.
Make no mistake about it, it wasn’t pretty, and it lacked pace and creativity, but for Steve Borthwick, it was a case of any port in a storm as his ageing, beleaguered and much-criticised team finally put a big win up on the board.
🔥 George Ford has been on it with the drop-goals in Marseille! #ENGvARG #RWC2023 pic.twitter.com/wr366zv9oS
— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) September 9, 2023
Some of the heroes are players that have played Test match rugby for a decade or more; Maro Itoje was as sharp as we’ve seen him for ages; Dan Cole was responsible for putting England on the front foot in carry and set piece whilst Courtney Lawes, despite a couple of technical penalties early doors, simply went and did Courtney Lawes things all evening, walking off the pitch to a standing ovation from the 63,000 fans in Marseille.
It was a blessed relief for England and Borthwick, a platform to build off, but most of all, it rewarded England’s superb supporters in the Orange Velodrome for their commitment to travelling to lend their team their voices and their hearts.
Argentina build-up
Argentina’s decision to play only two warm-up games post-Rugby Championship, with one of those against lowly Spain, looks to have left them a little short of the power side we’re accustomed to. They lacked the direct running and offloads down the middle that so characterise their game, and to see them concede something in excess of 14 handling errors was most unusual.
In part, that was down to the immense pressure England exerted from their improved rush defence, where Itoje was hugely influential, performing that 12 blitz role precisely in the same manner that Francois Cros delivered so successfully for France in Paris on Friday night and making a right nuisance of himself over the ball.
When rusty sides are placed under pressure, then they lose shape and concede penalties, and Los Pumas were so under the cosh that they transgressed 12 times, giving Ford ample opportunity to keep the scoreboard ticking over.
Michael Cheika will be devastated at this result – Argentina came into this match as many people’s favourites and, in polar opposition to this fixture in 2022, they simple didn’t turn up.
Tom Curry sees red
For all the midweek chat from Kevin Sinfield about how Tom Curry would come back and shore up England’s leaky defence, one point seemed to be conveniently ignored – that the England flanker hadn’t played a game of rugby for over 100 days.
You can prance around training grounds as much as you like; you can lift as many kilos in the gym as you want, but just like a cricketer values an hour batting in the middle over a week of batting in nets, rugby players need match time to hone accuracy, timing and skills.
To big Curry’s return up in the manner the England management did before a test of this standard was always going to come to the attention of Mother Karma, and in the second minute of the match, she showed both her sense of humour and occasion as the Sale Sharks man thundered head first into Juan Cruz Mallia.
🟥 Tom Curry sees red after his yellow card was upgraded from the bunker. Discipline woes continue for England. #ENGvARG #RWC2023 pic.twitter.com/V17ChWMvTI
— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) September 9, 2023
The only option was a red card, and it’s more to satisfy the regulations of World Rugby that Matthieu Raynal asked for a bunker review than the obvious nature of the uncontrolled clash from Curry.
Big defence
But whilst Sinfield was wrong about Curry, he was certainly right about the improvement in defence. England took strength from the dismissal, and their commitment with 14 men cannot be faulted. But it was the result of an improved, faster and more intense system over any individual contribution. That came from an obvious fitness improvement; England looked way ahead of Los Pumas in terms of speed and sharpness.
It was also a huge commitment and spirit of working together in precise units, with Ben Earl and Itoje hammering around the Argentinian carriers and Lawes and others looking to get over and steal. With Manu Tuilagi and Joe Marchant also joining in the fun – Tuilagi smashing some melting hits down the middle of the park – Sinfield’s defence took a massive step in the right direction, but it was the commitment, passion and legality that changed the course of England’s D rather than the influence of any single individual.
Mixed attack
OK, at the risk of being churlish, you might term this as a win from a distance since England really showed no running threat with ball in hand or no ability to really break down Los Pumas’ defence.
The tendency of Ford and his midfield to run across the was quite concerning, and quite how they blew a four on two in the last few moments of the first half will remain a rugby mystery forever.
In short, great back play sees players drift back in on the pass moment, whereas England are overrunning their own hands, crabbing and cutting out their own support carriers. They need to run, drift and straighten; that will come as combinations bond and confidence build.
Borthwick has stated that attack is a work in progress, and it was impressive to see that, knowing he’s struggling for handling precision, he and Player of the Match Ford came up with a plan B from the handbook of Rob Andrew, Jannie de Beer and Jonny Wilkinson; the simple three-point drop goal.
Whilst England are not the finished article yet, this was the single biggest improvement in match outcome and performance they’ve made during Borthwick’s tenure, and it came with perfect timing, just as he has promised his critics for some time.
READ MORE: England player ratings: Pack lays the platform for George Ford’s heroics
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