As shock reverberated around the rugby world on Friday night at the sight of the largely extinct drop goal, questions began to be asked, will England’s drop goal strategy continue, and why not?
Remarkable stats have been unearthed since Ford nailed three beautifully struck drop goals to inspire England to the win, my favourite being Ford kicked more drop goals in ten minutes than the All Blacks have in the past eight years. Eight years!
Argentina first up, was always tagged as the must win, the pressure on Borthwick was much more than even he’d care to admit. But that match was always about getting the win, any way possible. And drop goals provided the perfect solution. As I suggested should be the case last week 👉🏻 (shameless plug!).
Heading into the tournament with only three wins in the year, it feels like they've turned a corner and their feet are firmly under the World Cup table.
And looking ahead with games against Japan and Chile provides the perfect opportunity for England to dust off the attacking playbook and breathe life into their faltering attack. England fans dating back as far as 2021 have long been expectant of a fluid, high intensity attack, and they have been let down on each occasion following big promises from the England camp. But these two games must be different.
The opportunity these games offer against teams who also like to play quick means England need to develop their attacking game and a de facto plan B. Borthwicks obvious plan A of kick, chase, pressure, penalty, repeat, is both wonderfully simple but limited in equal measure.
Positive noises from Elliot Daly and Richard Wigglesworth this week suggests tries are on the agenda, but fans have heard this before, England must now deliver. England have only scored five tries in their last five matches, and there's plenty more stats to reveal how blunt the attack has been.
Most fans and myself included were just overjoyed to see an energetic 80 minute performance and a win on Saturday but its pretty obvious that with just plan A, Borthwicks men will come unstuck against better sides in the knockouts.
The drop goal approach was a brilliant and inspired short-term fix, but England must now develop a multi-layered game plan to ensure they go deep in this tournament. Drop goals, as much as I love them and want them to continue, symbolise the limited of our attacking ability.
The smash and grab job with 14 men was wonderful viewing, but to go further than the QFs, England must take the chance in next two weeks to get used to scoring in 7’s rather than 3’s.
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