England’s Performance v Italy – A Verdict

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Selection

We knew one feature of John Mitchell’s selection policy for the opening round: to start with the returning stars, absent far too long with injury. That meant Emily Scarratt retaining the 12 shirt she uses for Lightning; Zoe Harrison at 10, which meant deciding what to do with Holly Aitchison; and Abbie Ward, which meant restoring the best second-row partnership in the business, so no qualms there.

In the event neither of the first two had a faultless game, but that was precisely why they were there. It’s all very well talking about ‘brushing off the cobwebs’, but cobwebs wouldn’t last long when faced with the fury of an Italian defence.

Harrison missed her first three conversions, to which one social media commentator retorted: ‘Call in Dave Alred’ (the prince of kick-coaches). Is that as a technician or a psychologist? Did he (I have to assume the male gender here) recall her 7/7 v the Black Ferns, or the length of her punts in Parma?  Did he consider the gravity of her injury? When Lark Atkin-Davies found the same problem with the ball at line-out time, we might prefer to blame the ball. As a small child, I remember being told ‘a bad worker blames his tools’. But I’m prepared to make an exception here.

We aren’t going to drop Scarratt for kicking direct to touch or muffing the odd pass, are we?

So we are left wondering how the team will look next week. They may well already know; Mitchell has indicated that he intended telling the squad how the picture would look beyond Parma. But his options remain very open. Does he retain his debutants Kelsey Clifford and Maddie Feaunati, to save them the prospect of becoming one-cap wonders, or give others their chance? In the absence of Sarah Bern few would contest that Maud Muir is the best all-round player at No 3, so she may well get a start. Both those beginners made a good impression, but my guess is that they will be requested to warm the bench first for the Wales game.

And all the thousands of west-country folk who chorused ‘Where’s Emma Sing?’ may be pretty certain she will appear in Bristol. But Ellie Kildunne has surely fought off suggestions that Sing is the superior 15.

Even with all the injuries, it’s likely we’ll see a very different line-up in Bristol.

The Card Effect

Mitchell foresaw the side having sticky moments. He has his own way of expressing a thought that often passed Simon Middleton’s lips: knowing how to sort out problems on the field. Things will go wrong; a great side finds a solutiion.

And things most certainly did go wrong. Sarah Beckett’s dismissal from the field was uncontestable. Another reviewer has said that the Red Roses must sort out their discipline. Very true. But since hardly a single team in the universe is proving capable of that, what is the answer?

When Helena Rowland was also carded for a dangerous tackle – later deemed worth only a yellow – we could see how well the team adjusted to their numerical disadvantage. They scored two tries near the end, one after a flowing movement to the wing; the other a more prosaic forward drive.

At the risk of repeating myself: the first priority is the safety of every player. A less discussed matter is the well-being of the culprit. How does Beckett react to the likelihood of playing less than 15 minutes of a five-match tournament? How far was she driven by the knowledge that she had to put in a stand-out performance to have a chance of remaining in the selectors’ good books (competition everywhere you look in the back row) – and overdid things as a result?

Once more the bench made a signal difference once they came on. I would have started with Aitchison at 10; in the event, she replaced Scarratt and immediately sharpened play up with her vision and quick hands.

40 minutes, 80 minutes

It’s been held against the England team that they rarely manage to put in an 80-minute game. Parma offered another example. There were plenty of avoidable errors in the first half, but credit must be paid to the Italian defence, which put the ball-carriers under great pressure. The contrast in the second half could hardly have been greater.

Base Camp

I’m pleased to see Mitchell asking for a single training centre for his squad. There are some pluses in moving around the country, but most people find living in one hotel after another an unrewarding experience. France, Ireland, Scotland and Wales have their own dedicated training centre. Red Roses from Bristol Bears rate their own centre better than anything England can offer.