Odd old thing, international rugby. One week staring down the barrel of back-to-back losses in the Six Nations, the next being looked at as championship contenders. An almost fanciful twitch of the eye glances at the remaining fixtures and somehow, out of nowhere, England could be in the mix. Not many of us would have had that thought this time last week.
It goes without saying England rode their luck against France. In fact they galloped on it. The visitors will have come away from Twickenham in almost disbelief. Little if no rugby was played in the first half in France’s 22 as England were bombarded by the opposing side’s arsenal.
It almost felt that throughout the game the French mentality was they would have enough. Even in the last ten minutes after Fin Baxter’s try, they mustered the ability to score and put the game once more in the balance.
It is, though, wrong to dwell on France’s failings but rather direct our attention to England’s efforts. During the autumn and even as far back as the summer tour, they made a habit of losing tight matches.
That habit seemed to root itself deeper and deeper, and morph into a behaviour which meant England struggled to shift their attention away from the nerves and worries of losing tight games.
Against France, they managed it, finding enough at the very end to orchestrate a match-winning try from Elliot Daly and land the killer blow.
We have to be very careful about heralding a new dawn, and certainly suppressing the tidal surge of euphoria for Fin Smith. However, let me make a bold statement – he is the best fly-half in England.
Let me clarify. He may not be the best ‘player’ in his position but he is the best fly-half. Subtle difference, I know but they are not mutually exclusive.
An individual can have all the talent in the world, and set the game on fire even in a team going backwards as Marcus Smith did, but the goal of a fly-half is to drive the collective output, not the personal.
Not for one second am I insinuating Marcus only cares for himself. He seems as much a team man as Fin.
However, while the way he plays – off the cuff and instinctive – is a joy to watch, you feel it might be hard to play with. Those around him are unsure of where his quick feet will take him next and become reactive rather than proactive.
So when Fin (pictured) steps into the role, there seems to be a level of controlled shared knowledge between him and his team-mates.
Now, the sample size is small – a rare few minutes off the bench here and there, and a start in a game in which the opposition tried their best and succeeded in handing England victory.
But there are hints. The crossfield kicks, the delayed passes to team-mates flying into holes, all seemingly driven by those players around him being able to read his signals and make clear decisions.
Looking beyond the discussions around fly-half and at England as a whole, there were some very good performances.
The back row competed manfully and dented and disrupted the French flow, the centre partnership seemed to find a new gear and those combinations in the backline looked as though they were slowly clicking.
It was, however, a game France will be beating themselves up about. Mentality, weather, error count – whatever the reason, England left the Twickenham turf happy but probably knowing they had got away with one.
Regardless, the hosts went into the down week able to build on a victory. The coaches will be able to draw on the positives and develop players’ knowledge in a calmer, less pressurised environment.
Press conferences will no longer be driven about Steve Borthwick’s tenure, and how to end the depressing cycle of defeats, but more about his team’s chances of impacting this tournament.
England have been given a lifeline by our friends across the Channel that was badly needed. It must not be thrown back.
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