Foot in Touch

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Does Howley’s promotion open the door for Ashton?

April 20, 2012 · Leave a Comment

 

Will Howley stay with Wales when Gatland leads the Lions?

Jack Lewars

The news that Rob Howley will lead Wales’ tour to Australia after Warren Gatland’s recent domestic accident is fairly mundane.  Its wider implications, however, are not.

It is considered all but certain that Gatland will appoint Shaun Edwards and Graham Rowntree as his defence and forwards coaches for next year’s Lions tour.  What is not clear is who will fill the role of attack coach.  While Gatland could take this on himself, he is primarily a forwards coach and strategist, not someone who coaches the technical side of attack.  This leaves an intriguing gap in the Lions coaching make-up.

The obvious candidate is Rob Howley.  He is Wales’ attack guru and was on the 2009 Lions tour along with the three aforementioned coaches.  However, he has already been named as the joint leader (along with Robin McBryde) of the Welsh team in 2013, when Gatland will be on his Lions sabbatical year.  This includes not only the 6 Nations but also the summer tour to Japan, which coincides with the Lions fixtures Down Under.

It is not impossible, of course, that Howley could still travel with the Lions.  Being named as the caretaker of Wales does not prohibit being subsequently named as a Lions coach, and this may be thinking behind Robin McBryde’s joint appointment for the 6 Nations, especially as McBryde took charge of Wales’ 2009 tour to the USA in the absence of Gatland, Edwards and Howley.

If this is the expected progression, however, it seems rather strange that Howley has been given sole charge of Wales’ summer tour to Australia.  This would be a great chance to give McBryde further experience as the head guy, in preparation for his joint and then single custodianship next year.  Although it is firmly in the realms of speculation, it seems to me that Howley’s appointment for the 2012 Australia tour puts his Lions participation in doubt.

Regardless of the lack of certainty here, this gives an intriguing opportunity to muse about alternatives.  The unfortunate truth is that there really aren’t that many.  Scotland can’t buy a try at the moment, which probably discounts Gregor Townsend, although he has fine Lions pedigree as a player.  I’ve got to be honest and say that before researching piece I’d never actually heard of Gert Smal, who seems to be Ireland’s attack coach, so he would be a shock choice as well.

This apparent dearth of candidates adds considerable weight to the position of England attack coach.  After Andy Farrell decided to stay with Saracens (and, although his work on defence during the 6 Nations was outstanding, anyone who saw Sarries plug away at uninspiring plan A against Clermont for 80 minutes won’t be devastated to see him exit the frame), there has been much speculation about the final part of Lancaster’s preferred triumvirate structure.  Waikato Chiefs coach Wayne Smith is the favourite to get the job, especially after masterminding the All Blacks’ World Cup triumph, but he isn’t available until the Autumn.  This necessitates a temporary coach for the South Africa tour and if Stuart Lancaster has demonstrated anything, it’s that possession is nine-tenths of the law in coaching.

If Smith is the RFU and Lancaster’s first choice, it wouldn’t surprise me to see either of Mike Catt or Brian Ashton travel to South Africa.  Catt has international pedigree and is respected by the players, although he is relatively inexperienced and has not coached above club level.  Ashton, meanwhile, was the brain behind England’s unstoppable attack patterns in the Woodward era – something he did so successfully that he became England head coach and led them to a World Cup Final.  In many ways, and still assuming that Howley is unavailable, Ashton would be the most likely person to travel with the Lions, both on ability and pedigree.

Although this is largely speculation and educated guesswork, the thought of a Gatland – Ashton – Edwards – Rowntree coaching team is extremely exciting (not to mention Lancaster – Ashton – Rowntree for England).  There would also be a sense of justice in giving Ashton, a committed servant of the game and a revolutionary attacking thinker, the chance to redeem himself after his appalling treatment at the hands of the RFU in 2008.  Although it remains to seen whether Ashton is willing either to re-enter elite rugby or to talk to the RFU again, he did suggest himself as an interim coach for both the 6 Nations and the South Africa tour in the press.  This suggests that a shot at redemption might just be as appealing to him as it is to the rest of us.

Categories: 6 Nations · Australia · British and Irish Lions · Coaches · England · Ireland · Scotland · Wales
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RFU get it right with Lancaster appointment

March 29, 2012 · Leave a Comment

Jack Lewars

Stuart Lancaster will today be confirmed as the new full-time England head coach after his 6 Nations success.  Despite rumours that the RFU would go for the more experienced Nick Mallett, coming second in the European tournament was enough to earn a reported four-year contract.  This can only be good news for English rugby.

Lancaster has achieved a staggering amount since January.  He came to a squad which was disunited, stagnant and low on confidence after a poor World Cup.  Before the tournament, England were widely tipped to finish fourth, possibly third if they could overcome Ireland at home.  Indeed, Scotland had the novel experience of being favourites for the opening fixture at Murrayfield.

The former Leeds and England Saxons coach had other ideas, however.  With just three weeks to mould the squad before the competition began, his initial focus was discipline, both on and off the field.  He used motivational speakers, letters from coaches, friends and family and simple team-building exercises to ensure that players felt pride in the jersey and trust in each other.  This then translated into wholehearted defensive efforts against Scotland and Italy, in which the most striking feature was exceptional discipline under pressure.  There is no doubt that Martin Johnson’s England would have lost both those games through conceding needless penalties – Lancaster’s side kept their heads and allowed their excellent scramble defence (and some woeful Scottish decision-making) to bail them out.

From that base, the Lancaster-Farrell-Rowntree triumvirate has gone on to achieve an incredible breadth of improvement.  As well as upgrading the defensive system from a scramble defence to an aggressive, hard-hitting blitz, they have given England structure and depth in attack and turned a decent pack in an absolute wrecking ball; they successfully blooded a whole raft of new players, from the ice-cool Owen Farrell to the rampaging Ben Morgan, and have turned previously average-looking players into Test match competitors (think Geoff Parling); and, even better, there has been clear evidence of top class coaching.  It is surely no coincidence that Dan Cole and Tom Croft, both players with an abundance of class but little to show for it in recent seasons, had their best ever periods in an England shirt – this is where Lancaster’s experience as a developmental coach really tells.

The only danger to Lancaster’s bid to get the position permanently was shifting expectations.  If you had offered England fans in January two wins and a desperately unlucky loss to Wales from their first three games, they would have taken your hand off.  That alone was serious progress from the dark days of December, when leaked reports offered little hope of any cohesion at all.  Suddenly, however, there was talk of needing a win against France (and I remain convinced that a loss to the World Cup finalists, even away from home, would have given those seeking Mallett’s appointment just the opportunity they needed to sow seeds of doubt about Lancaster’s credentials).  This was asking a coach who had conjured something from nothing not only to put in a credible performance, but a record-breaking one.  That he achieved this most unreasonable of requirements, in a display overflowing with pace and style, is truly amazing.

England were not perfect in the 6 Nations, of course, and there remain serious questions to be answered – can England attack if Tuilagi isn’t fit?  Why is the lineout so hit and miss?  Can they learn to put sides to the sword when they’re on top, as they failed to do against France and Wales?  Perhaps most importantly of all, given that he is a crucial part of the three-man team that has brought England so far so quickly, will the RFU be able to prise Andy Farrell away from Saracens?  There is absolutely no doubt, however, that Lancaster is the right man to be searching for these answers.

Categories: 6 Nations · Coaches · England
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England’s Saullvation

January 4, 2012 · Leave a Comment

Could Andy Saull be the answer to England's openside flanker problem?

Jack Lewars

Stuart Lancaster will announce his first England squad this week amid a strange sense of optimism.  Forget England’s form since 2003, forget the World Cup: a new regime means new players and new combinations, and that inevitably means hope.  In some instances, this is well-founded – England have their greatest abundance of quality full-backs in years, as Foden fights off Brown, Abendanon and Goode, and scrum-half and wing both look promising.  However, as Chris wrote on this blog in October, the key positions of openside flanker and creative centre remain in doubt.  Andy Saull’s recent form, therefore, could not be better timed.

Saull is one of the players who seems to have been around for a while.  He has notched over 100 appearances for Saracens without winning a senior England cap, and he seems to figure in most people’s consciousness as ‘workmanlike’.  He was not on the previous coaching team’s radar, as they preferred shifting a talented blindside flanker to seven rather than recruiting a specialist seven, and he never made the EPS under Johnson.  It would therefore be some jump for him to start in such a key position against Scotland on February 4th.

However, several things are in his favour.  First, despite his journeyman image, he is only 23, thus fitting the bill for a side that needs to build towards 2015.  In addition, he has played for three England age-group sides and, crucially, the Saxons, where Lancaster was his coach, so the new man knows his strengths.  Third, as mentioned, he is a genuine, out-and-out seven, which the World Cup showed to be a crucial ingredient of a successful side.  And fourth, and most importantly, he has been at the heart of Saracens’ fantastic recent form.

No game has better showcased Saull’s attributes than that against Harlequins on 27th December.  Despite the man-of-the-match award going to Brad Barritt (a contender for the centres, although not the most creative one), Saull was the difference between the two sides.  He won penalties which Farrell could turn into points, he stopped the home side from building momentum and he dominated the much-vaunted Quins’ captain Chris Robshaw.  Most notable of all, however, was his ability at the breakdown, where he stole, spoiled and scrapped for Harlequins’ ball for the full eighty minutes.  It is this last attribute that makes him a serious contender for Lancaster’s back row.

England have for some time lacked a player who can jackal well and rip possession.  This problem has been so chronic that I remember Steve Borthwick cementing his place as captain in 2009 when he performed the feat once against France.  In the World Cup, after the games against Argentina and Georgia, England’s back rowers had achieved three turnovers between them.  David Pocock, in the quarter-final against South Africa, managed nine on his own, at least six of which were legal.

In keeping with the world’s best flankers, Saull has the knack of arriving at the breakdown at exactly the right time, which is crucial under the current laws.  With the tackler now obliged to release both player and ball before challenging, the days of bringing a runner down and seamlessly swinging into the jackal are gone.  The most effective time to reach the breakdown is at the exact moment at which the tackle is completed – you can then drop into position over the ball and either tear it free or win a penalty for holding on.  This rewards players with a high work rate, who are prepared to chase the ball even when it isn’t in their channel, and Saull is both a tireless runner and a strong player, capable of resisting the first hit from the attacking ruckers.  Whether he is stealing possession, or just slowing it down by getting his hands on it, he is a massive asset for any team.

When Saull signed a three-year contract extension at Saracens in 2009, Brendan Venter called him a “giant stake… helping to underpin our future”.  If Lancaster tries a traditional openside for his new England squad, he may well end up saying the same thing.

Categories: 6 Nations · Aviva Premiership · Coaches · England · Harlequins · Players · Saracens
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HSBC World Sevens – Russell Earnshaw Interview, sponsored by HSBC

December 17, 2011 · 1 Comment

HSBC, the official sponsors of the World Sevens Series, have released a series of videos looking at the off-field entertainment that they provide for travelling squads.  These include a helicoptor ride, as seen above, and learning to surf on the Gold Coast, and we will most probably feature a third video as the Series progresses.  In the meantime, we caught up with Russell Earnshaw, the assistant coach to the England Sevens squad, to ask about off and on-field management.

The World Cup, where the greatest teams on the planet go toe-to-toe, is the pinnacle of modern rugby. However, if you want to look beyond the traditional powerhouses, rugby sevens is the arena in which new rugby nations emerge. England Sevens coach Russell Earnshaw says up-and-coming countries push the squad to continue improving:

“There are so many good nations coming through – the game is huge in Russia now, because the Olympics has given it status, and it is now on the school curriculum over there. In Europe, Spain and Portugal have full-time programmes with the Olympic cycle approaching and, having hit a World Series final in Adelaide, the USA should go from strength to strength. It’s incredibly competitive – South Africa won the world series in 2008/9 and then they were 6th the following season.”

With smaller nations pushing on and those at the top always striving to improve, the England team are hoping a holistic approach will give them an edge. They use extensive GPS data to map performance in training and games and have a number of specialist coaches, drawn from the national academy and England set-ups. “All your skills are under a microscope – your passing, tackling, breakdown work, your first phase work as a forward. Everything matters.”

The use of technology doesn’t end at performance statistics. Testosterone and cortisol testing helps to inform training schedules and the players are even profiled on their sleep patterns to, amongst other things, help with choosing room mates. Earnshaw says that, with so much time spent in hotels and airports, off-field care is also vital.

“Last year we were only four weeks of travel away from being tax exiles. We have good routines, especially on match days. We map out our days to cope with the travel and jet lag, using a mixture of science and anecdotal experience. We have a masseur who has been on four British Lions tours, so his experience really helps us with that side of things.”

There is also the chance for relaxing away from the pitch, with the lifestyle a major attraction for the squad. The players are given time off and are trusted to behave appropriately when they let off steam. Earnshaw claims not to have encountered any problems so far, but he does admit that the coaches have “learnt from some mistakes.”

As coverage of depression in sport and the difficulties of touring increases, with Jason Robinson the latest player to discuss his emotional struggle as a player, the ability to get away from the intense atmosphere of the match is ever more important. Amongst other things, the England squad have enjoyed a trip around Wellington on Harley Davidsons, a backstage visit to Cirque du Soleil and off-roading in the Dubai desert, and HSBC is providing opportunities for all the squads, as seen in the video above.

On the issue of the link between sevens and the fifteen-a-side game, Earnshaw is a mix of passion and frustration. He is insistent that sevens can develop players for Test rugby, reeling off the notable alumni – Croft, Varndell, Youngs, Foden, Care, Banahan. “Take James O’Connor or Ben Youngs. At 17, they were put in front of 40 000 people and asked to make split-second decisions under huge pressure. That’s where they’ll be in international games. It can only help.”

He yearns for a structure similar to that in New Zealand, where players such as Zac Guildford or Israel Dagg are honed in the Sevens World Series, but won’t be drawn on exactly what has prevented this being achieved. He does, however, think that Stuart Lancaster’s appointment is a significant opportunity for greater cohesion between the two forms of the game. “Stuart has been on two or three trips with us, so that might help. We’ll have to wait and see.” If more joined-up thinking results in an England team like the current New Zealand squad, there will be few dissenters.

Categories: All Blacks · Australia · Coaches · England · Interviews · Portugal · Russia · Sevens · South Africa · Spain · Training · USA
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Varsity Match preview – Shaun Edwards

December 2, 2011 · Leave a Comment

Shaun Edwards in action with this year's Cambridge University squad

With the Nomura Varsity Match approaching next week, Foot in Touch was keen to get an inside view on one of the game’s most iconic fixtures.  We caught up with Shaun Edwards, who coaches the Cambridge University squad each year, to discuss the game and his effect on the Cambridge squad.

A man of Shaun Edwards’ achievements and stature might consider coaching at Cambridge University somewhat of a chore. Not a bit of it, according to the man himself. “The Varsity Match is the oldest match in rugby, along with the Calcutta Cup,” he says. “When Tony Rodgers [the Blues' coach] rang me, I was delighted to be involved with something so prestigious.”

Indeed, Edwards, a man not given to bubbling enthusiasm, is clearly a huge fan of the Cambridge experience itself. As well as a coaching partnership stretching back for nearly a decade, he is devotee of the city’s culture and ambience, often bringing his family to visit when he is coaching the University side.

Unsurprisingly, however, Edward’s love of the setting cannot distract his rugby focus. His bone-jarring defence as a player was infamous, when he captained the Great Britain Rugby League side and was named 1990’s Man of Steel, and this is what he brings to the Blues: “I coach the defence – in particular, structure, role understanding and technical points. The squads always have an incredible amount of desire, so I don’t need to coach that, but then I have to make sure I can reach the whole team, with a range of backgrounds and experience.”

Neither players nor coaches are in any doubt about the value of one of rugby’s most successful figures. “The boys love him,” says Tony Rodgers happily. “He’s so intense, and brings that absolutely professional attitude. He almost kills them, but they love him anyway.”

Cambridge Captain Matt Guinness-King agrees. “He’s very to the point – it’s always a very focussed session. Like anything that’s done right, it’s strangely simple but it works. It’s just 3 or 4 key principles – it’s really great to feel it come together.”

Even Edwards’ famously uncompromising attitude is welcomed by the squad. “It’s fantastic that he doesn’t pull any punches,” claims Guinness-King. “On the pitch, feelings don’t come into it – there’s lot of time to talk off the field, but on it we need a general. That was him today.”

Given his success at every level of the game, which encompasses domestic, European and international honours as both coach and player, many have questioned the RFU’s inability to recruit Edwards. The man himself is typically straightforward in his views, although it is hard to ignore his suppressed frustration that he was not approached, when he seemed to be making every effort to signify his availability.

“Yes, I would be interested, but you have to be asked first. The RFU have a good structure in place, so they just need the right people. I think they should get an English coach, and the stand out man for that at the moment is Jim Mallinder.”

That may be so, but until Edwards signed a new contract with Wales just a few weeks ago, even a man of Mallinder’s profile was very much in the shade.  It remains to be seen whether the RFU will again regret missing out on such an important figure in the modern game.

Categories: Coaches · England · Interviews · Wales
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