Bob Dwyer Rugby Workshops

Stade de France. Saturday, 20^th March, 2010.

The Six Nations Championship of 2010 has been claimed by France with their tentative victory over England at Stade de France. In the process, they claimed the coveted Grand Slam, their fifth since professional rugby began in 1996.

They deserved it. France were the best and most consistent team in the championship, but the pressure of the final hurdle brought caution and hesitation to their game. These are not ingredients to produce a classic display of rugby from the French and, in the end, France limped over the line. Of course, the weather did not help at all. There had been heavy rain and it came again early in the match. I was reminded immediately of another match between these two teams in similar weather, in the semi-final of the 2003 Rugby World Cup. France had been in scintillating form throughout the tournament, whilst England had been less convincing. The occasion and the weather forced the French right back into their shells. England totally dominated the match, and the scoreboard, and Martin Johnson’s team went on to victory in the final against the hosts, Australia. Surely not again, I thought! And perhaps a few others had similar thoughts!

France began the match positively and, in the second minute, England’s first lineout throw was “not straight”. Then, at their first scrum, “early packing” gave France the free kick. They worked play to centre field and Trinh-Duc kicked the drop goal. Nice and neat and clinical.

From there, it was all England. They were positive and aggressive - and unusually expansive and accurate. Mike Tindall, who was amongst England’s best, won the restart and England showed their hand with three very quick recycles at the tackle. They spread the ball wide to the right, where Tindall showed excellent “quick hands” to Cueto. Another quick recycle and they spread the ball wide to the left through their re-aligned backline. This time it was Chris Ashton’s turn for “quick hands” to the unmarked Ben Foden, who showed good speed for an excellent try in the corner. It looked like a line from my Coaching Manual – “Continuity & Re-alignment; Make space & Capitalise on it.”

As is frequently the case, youth and talent had shown the way. No fear of failure here – in fact, an opportunity to demonstrate one’s ability. From there, England were clearly the more adventurous side – and, to me, this demonstrated the folly of their earlier selections. Half of England had been crying out for Foden’s selection since the autumn and he did not disappoint. Similarly, Chris Ashton has a bright future. It was not all youth, however, and “old” Mike Tindall returned from injury to play a significant role in a refreshing display from the English.

We should not forget, however, that it was the French who “had it all to lose”. The French had the pressure of expectation – from their nation and from themselves - and “expectation of result” frequently plays havoc with “performance”. The psychology of this “fear of winning” will be the subject of an upcoming Sports Psychology feature on my web-site, for this is yet another real challenge for an ambitious team. The abject display by France in the autumn international against New Zealand may well have contained elements of this affliction.

The shell that France retreated to, was not the worst spot for them, however, because they possess a strong and determined forward pack, even with a few of their first choice unavailable. Their scrum dominated the English pack and Dan Cole immediately fell from favour with referee Bryce Lawrence. The dreaded “not releasing ball-carrier” gave France their first penalty goal. Then several scrum penalties gave Trinh-Duc field- position and opportunity to put France in the lead, at 12-7, with two well taken kicks. This was the half-time score.

Simon Shaw had been forced off early in the match, but Tom Palmer did well and will surely be a better eventual choice for the future for England. Johnson wisely substituted both prop, Dan Cole, and hooker, Dylan Hartley, at the break. The inclusion of David Wilson and Steve Thompson gave stability to England’s scrum and, importantly, placated Bryce Lawrence.

Much of the second half belonged to England. They created numerous chances, but they were always covered by the French. Beautiful hands, once again from Tindall, gave space to Chris Ashton on the left wing. Unfortunately he chipped over Poitrenaud – and way too early – rather than to hold possession and trust his support and Poitrenaud won the race back. Ashton, and hopefully his support, will learn from this.

David Marty came on for Bastareaud at the 51^st minute and perhaps Marty’s greater speed explains the surprising decision by Martin Johnson to substitute the excellent Mike Tindall for the speed of Matthew Tait. Perhaps a better decision, given Tindall’s excellent display of handling, might have been to remove Ricky Flutey, who had been unusually average. Marty was immediately effective and his long, slashing break was brought undone by his poor running lines, which caused Poitrenaud to over-run. Such moments were rare for the French and they needed to capitalize.

Johnny Wilkinson came on for Flutey in the last quarter and soon realized his value. Foden launched another beautiful counter to yet another nervous French kick and France were penalised at the tackle. Wilkinson converted the chance with a kick from near the halfway at touch. 12-10 gave England the real opportunity. Was it to be Wilkinson yet again?

England took the quick throw and looked promising, only for the referee – much to the consternation of the England fans and Brian Moore, in the commentary box – to recall them for a “throw forward from touch”. Replays confirmed the referee’s decision. England continued to press forward, however, and the match ended when they lost the ball forward in a powerful French tackle. Morgan Parra hurried the ball into touch and French relief was tangible!

France deserved their ninth Grand Slam and Imanol Harinordoquy was surely the player of the tournament. Five wins in a row for coach Mark Livremont was a massive gain over his previous best of two!

England had competed well, but, more importantly, had introduced Ben Foden and Chris Ashton. They can both play very well at this level.