Wilkinson searches for positives in diredisplay from Johnson's struggling side
Monday November 09 2009
The Brits are firing blanks. No tries from England at Twickenham, and precious little sign of one, and no tries from Wales either. The most damning assessment of England's impotence came from Wallabies captain Rocky Elsom, who said that his team's defence had been "comfortable -- we didn't need to do much".
The Guinness Premiership has been blighted by a dearth of tries, showing a 30pc drop. The malaise is obviously spreading. Elsom figures that Ireland will pose far more problems at Croke Park on Sunday. And the reason is simple. "They've got a bunch of strike runners," said a man speaking from first-hand experience having played alongside Brian O'Driscoll, Rob Kearney et al at Leinster last year.
England were fitful and flaky in attack, generating little tempo and no sparkle. A couple of cross-kicks and the occasional half-break were as close as they came.
Sure, they have been disrupted by injuries, but so were the Lions in South Africa and they had little time in which to adapt. Yet they played with energy and guile, stretching as well as penetrating the world champions.
Australia, a victory in Brisbane apart, could not match the Boks. Of course, the Lions players were the best of the best, but even so, England's stodginess on Saturday was troubling. The Wallabies, after all, had lost six of their previous seven games.
Martin Johnson must already be growing weary of trotting out coach-speak platitudes in the wake of defeat. This is his seventh loss in 12 matches.
It is a poor return. The tumbrels were already rumbling for his predecessors, Brian Ashton and Andy Robinson, at this stage. Johnson's best-laid plans have been unstitched by injuries but, even so, the next fortnight, with games against Argentina and New Zealand, will be revealing.
In truth, it was a nine-point thumping, for Australia wasted two gilt-edged opportunities. And how much worse it might have been if Jonny Wilkinson had not been restored to health. A thousand Sunday prayers were offered up again by England followers for his future well-being. A snappy, signature early drop-goal was followed by two dead-eyed penalties, with another rapping the post.
England are diminished without him, although even his scoring input ran dry by the 27th minute. Wilkinson was sharp and smart in equal measure. Few others around him were. Shane Geraghty had mixed fortunes.
"We need to make sure that this means something, need to make sure that this sets us out on the right road," Wilkinson said afterwards.
England need to revitalise the pack. As feared, they were too one-paced.
Time and again, the ball lay dormant at the back of the breakdown. It was like watching an archeological dig as Danny Care burrowed away in search of treasure. The tempo lifted when Paul Hodgson arrived midway through the second half. The London Irish scrum-half is a master of getting the optimum from his pack. He deserves a start against Argentina on Saturday. So does James Haskell at No 8.
The England line-out went well early on. Tom Croft was agile and dexterous while Steve Borthwick marshalled his forces well. Louis Deacon is a workhorse lock but rarely made an impact on the drive forward. England rarely did, hence the slow ball.
If Wilkinson was the fulcrum of England's game, then Lewis Moody was its heartbeat. He was precise as well as forceful, turning over Australian ball and proving the master of the moment. He was a major plus for England, whose discipline across the board was impressive. Only six penalties were conceded.
The same could not be said about their defence. Both tries were conceded far too easily, first with live-wire scrum-half Will Genia darting through while Adam Ashley-Cooper had to do no more than plough through Mark Cueto and Ugo Monye for his.
The Wallabies will find their Grand Slam quest far more difficult in Dublin.
England must regroup for the Pumas. England will be wearing their purple change-strip. They will hope that it is the only shocking thing on the day. (© Daily Telegraph, London)
- Mick Cleary
Irish Independent
