Matt Dawson column: ‘There is no point in England having stars if their talent is stifled’
- Published
- comments
England have the talent to perform better than they did in Saturday's Six Nations win against Wales, but in order to do that their players need more freedom.
There were glimpses at Twickenham of excellent control but they were only glimpses. It was not as if there were 30 minutes of England dominating. A lot of it was Wales' mistakes.
I know those mistakes came from lots of England pressure but some of the penalties Wales conceded were really soft.
The discipline and defence on show from Eddie Jones' men were good. It was just a shame that the attack could not create the opportunities that all the possession they had warranted.
England have got to be more ruthless in the way they attack. Whenever they get to certain parts of the field it is like everyone slots into the way they train, the things they have spoken about in camp.
That was apparent against Wales, who were ready to counter-attack and throw caution to the wind. England were not like that.
It felt quite mechanical. And because they are big, strong and very fit they could get away with it.
But they still have to play Ireland and France, and what concerns me is that those two sides will absolutely compete with England up front, so they will need a bit more initiative.
'There is no point having talent if you stifle it'
Six Nations: England beat spirited Wales at Twickenham
I would let the players finish attacking moves how they want to.
England have the brilliant flair of fly-half Marcus Smith, who can create something out of nothing. If he sees an opportunity, he should be allowed to go with his instinct - how he would do it for his club Harlequins.
What constantly impresses me about Smith is that he is playing within the system but then when it is time for him to have a little dart or hit a cross-field kick, manage the game a bit, he does.
He has all the skills and if he has a bit of space to show them it looks like he is in really good control.
There is no point having those players if you are going to stifle them in the way they play.
England have the talent and the structure to succeed. France have that too but looking at their dominant victory against Scotland, it looks like the players are also encouraged to enjoy themselves.
They have one or two superstar players who ignite the rest of the team.
'I am not sure Randall will start the next game'
Scrum-half Harry Randall is another who needs more licence to play.
If he wants to go out there and take every quick-tap penalty then go for it and see where it takes England.
He is not going to make breaks every time but I would be encouraging him to have a little dart round the breakdown or feed players in around him.
Against Wales, Randall started over Ben Youngs for the second game in a row but I am not sure he will keep the starting shirt for the Ireland game in two weeks.
I would like to see him have a run at it but I am slightly concerned Jones will think it did not quite work on Saturday and maybe he should use Randall with 20 or 30 minutes to go.
Being 17-0 up and letting Wales come back into it is the sort of thing that scrum-halves get the blame for. I have been blamed for a few of those in my time.
I saw Randall running around from ruck to ruck and you could tell he was actually quite tired. Then he was slow to get to the rucks and the ball was not getting in Smith's hands as quickly and Wales could defend.
'The use of Itoje was awkward'
Another thing that did not make sense to me was how England used Maro Itoje.
There were two or three times in the first half he was playing first receiver and doing little drop-off balls. Someone somewhere thinks that is the best use of Itoje but you are not utilising your players in the best way.
If it is Kyle Sinckler I get it. He can run at pace, tip people off, look like he is getting the ball when he is not. But Itoje will either truck it up or, if he stands at first receiver, he just pivots and passes it on. There is no threat.
It is all a bit awkward and I feel a bit for Itoje. You know he has been told to do it but why would you do that to someone who wants to take people on and get into contact?
'England have hope against France'
France are favourites for the title but England might have a chance.
I think they can beat Ireland at home and then they will have an opportunity to go to Paris on the final weekend needing victory to be Six Nations champions.
What England need is a performance like their World Cup semi-final against New Zealand - a moment when the light switch gets flicked on and they see how they should play.
You see glimpses of it at the moment but there is something in there holding them back, keeping them to how they think they should play.
If something goes really well, it will give them the confidence to think 'OK this is how we're going to play'.
It is not as if England have no hope against France.
Matt Dawson was speaking to BBC Sport's Becky Grey.
The Fast and the Farmer-ish: Who will prove victorious and take home the tractor trophy?
Built on fakery: Every brand has a story, even the ones that don't exist...
