Mentality of the players holds key

"Everyone should look to improve and be brave - and that's coaches as well as players"

- JEREMY GUSCOTT

OWEN Farrell has won over 100 England caps, George Ford has 81 caps, Manu Tuilagi has 51 caps, and even a relative newcomer like Marcus Smith has over 20 caps to his name. You would think that amount of experience was a guarantee of midfield stability, but that is not where England are as they prepare for the 2023 World Cup.

For two seasons after Eddie Jones took over as England coach in 2016 they did very well when he used Ford and Farrell in tandem as a 10-12 combination during Tuilagi’s prolonged injury absence. Ever since then, England have really struggled to find consistency in their 10-12-13 axis, and have been trying constantly to discover a long-term combination that fires the rest of the team.

However, there are times when the emphasis put on England’s midfield trio is too exaggerated, and is allowed to mask shortcomings elsewhere in the side.

The shape of the game has changed dramatically since I played, and foremost in that change has been the introduction of pods of forwards in attack. These have changed the direction of the midfield. In the pre-pod era the roles were distinct between forwards and backs, with the back row usually providing the links between the two in open play. It meant that there was often a nice synergy between 10-12-13, which also involved interplay with the back three.

The 10-12-13 combinations that have been the most influential in the pod era, such as England’s Jonny Wilkinson-Will Greenwood-Mike Tindall in 2003, New Zealand’s Dan Carter-Ma’a Nonu-Conrad Smith in 2015, and South Africa’s Handre Pollard-Damian de Allende-Lukhanyo Am in 2019, are marked by their longevity and effectiveness.