England's attack has to have a revamp

"The offloads and breaks made by inside-centres are crucial in creating momentum"

- JEREMY CUSCOTT

THE England attack has been mediocre since 2019 – and that’s giving it some praise. Their ability to penetrate opposition defences has been inconsistent, like every other aspect of their game. That’s why, if there is one New Year’s resolution I’d like to see England head coach Steve Borthwick and his new world champion attack coach, Felix Jones, put into practice this season, it is to revamp the attack.

Rugby union mirrors life in general, in terms of it being easier if you have got a sense of purpose, and attack definitely sets this England team a challenge, because it requires far more thought than defence.

In the amateur era it was fairly straightforward. The attacking phase play usually had backs in front and forwards as the second phase behind them. Usually the call was to go either left or right, or you called a move. Overall, it was clear cut.

However, in attack in the modern game there are many more moving parts. There is much more phase play, and very often the move comes after the third phase. This means that every pass has to be accurate, and the timing of up to four players in each phase has to be precise.

If those three phases go to plan the attack usually works very well, but if it goes wrong it can frequently cause mayhem.

That’s why I keep coming back to the fundamental that after a well-executed first phase England should start to play what they see in front of them, rather than to a multi-phase coaching play-book. The best attacking base is almost always your first-phase possession, because everyone is in place and knows what their role is.