It is fair to say that the Red Rose of
England is positively blooming under the green fingers of Stuart Lancaster and
his esteemed team… this year’s RBS 6 Nations was by far the most impressive
display that we have seen from an England side in a number of years. The
Championship and fairy-tale ending belonged to the Irish and the noble Brian
O’Driscoll however that does not matter one bit for this spirited and exciting
England side. Over the course of 400 minutes of rugby England overcame huge obstacles, they did things that they have never been able to do before and played at an
intensity that we have never seen before.
In front of our very own eyes we have seen this England mature, we have witnessed them take their game to another level and it really couldn’t have happened at a more appropriate time. Before the RBS 6 Nations started the prospect of a Summer Tour to New Zealand was spoken about with trepidation and fear… the words ‘Tour From Hell’ were whispered by some… however now the prospect is a very different one.
I thought about
picking out individuals for this review… and then as I started to write I
realised that every single member of the 23 man squad could warrant a paragraph
filled with praise and compliments. It is like trying to pick between your
favourite chocolate bar or I’d even go so far as to say trying to pick which of
your children you like best, not that I have any experience of the latter,
however I’m sure that you understand what I am trying to say with these two
analogies. If you have followed Out On The Full throughout the tournament then
you will know that I do think that Mike Brown particularly stood out however
then I start thinking of others that were hugely influential; Lawes,
Launchbury, Wood, Robshaw, Care and as you can see the waters become muddied!
England are now playing like a World Class team, from an outsider looking in it is clear that the penny has dropped and something has clicked… the last time I truly felt like that was in the build up to a certain outstanding year just over 10 years ago. The speed in defence is coupled with an extremely high tackle completion rate, the breakdown is now almost always owned by England, the lineout is in the best shape of its life and in attack the threats now come from all over the park not just from one individual. England dealt with a huge amount of emotional pressure and physical tests throughout this tournament, they made a team full of Lions look average at best, they made the eventual Championship winners shake, they dismissed the two potential hick ups and if it wasn’t for a short loss of concentration early on in Paris the trophy would have been theirs.
In front of our very own eyes we have seen this England mature, we have witnessed them take their game to another level and it really couldn’t have happened at a more appropriate time. Before the RBS 6 Nations started the prospect of a Summer Tour to New Zealand was spoken about with trepidation and fear… the words ‘Tour From Hell’ were whispered by some… however now the prospect is a very different one.
I thought about
picking out individuals for this review… and then as I started to write I
realised that every single member of the 23 man squad could warrant a paragraph
filled with praise and compliments. It is like trying to pick between your
favourite chocolate bar or I’d even go so far as to say trying to pick which of
your children you like best, not that I have any experience of the latter,
however I’m sure that you understand what I am trying to say with these two
analogies. If you have followed Out On The Full throughout the tournament then
you will know that I do think that Mike Brown particularly stood out however
then I start thinking of others that were hugely influential; Lawes,
Launchbury, Wood, Robshaw, Care and as you can see the waters become muddied!England are now playing like a World Class team, from an outsider looking in it is clear that the penny has dropped and something has clicked… the last time I truly felt like that was in the build up to a certain outstanding year just over 10 years ago. The speed in defence is coupled with an extremely high tackle completion rate, the breakdown is now almost always owned by England, the lineout is in the best shape of its life and in attack the threats now come from all over the park not just from one individual. England dealt with a huge amount of emotional pressure and physical tests throughout this tournament, they made a team full of Lions look average at best, they made the eventual Championship winners shake, they dismissed the two potential hick ups and if it wasn’t for a short loss of concentration early on in Paris the trophy would have been theirs.
Stuart Lancaster’s
system of ‘blooding in’ players over the past 18 months has worked a treat, promising
players (Lawes, Vunipola Launchbury and Brown) are now classed as ‘world
beaters’ and that will happen for others over the next year. England also have
a wealth of talent that will be returning from injury, the esteemed list
includes Ben Foden, Geoff Parling, Tom Croft, Christian Wade, Marland Yarde and
Alex Corbisiero and their return to fitness will only strengthen this squad.
Before injury struck many were first choice squad members, now they will have
to fight tooth and nail to be considered for selection… Ben Foden recently
joked that he wanted to change positions due to the strength of Mike Brown
however we all know that will not happen and that having such competition will
only take this team to even greater heights.Finally England’s secret, intangible weapon is back, their pride in their jersey and their collective team spirit; you can see that this squad will do absolutely anything to ensure that they win together, they will put their bodies on the line until they can physically do no more to secure a result and that is a huge, huge asset. Chris Robshaw revealed that in Rome on Saturday evening the squad made a vow to each other that next year would be their year. This England squad are hugely aware of the pressure that is heaped upon their shoulders, however they have the talent, spirit and support to achieve great things, things that we haven’t seen in quite a long time and that is why heading out to New Zealand in June is in fact hugely exciting prospect and the next step towards greatness for this powerful England squad.
