How England turned the foot pass into a key attacking weapon

Of all the possible actions in rugby, kicking the ball in a strong attacking position is one of those most likely to elicit a groan from a team’s supporters.

Between his two drop goals in Durban, Ciarán Frawley’s clever kick that forced Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu to concede a throw-in was a brave and highly influential piece of play. Initially, though, it could have left the Irish fans nervous and even frustrated.

Just hours earlier, England had scored both their tries at Eden Park thanks to Marcus Smith’s footed passes. The fly-half is diligently honing that technique. Watch him in the warm-up and he’ll be sending balls to his teammates on the wing several times. In the second Test, Smith’s training paid off.

Scan and tap

The first try began immediately after the restart following Mark Tele’a’s finish. England had shown admirable resilience throughout the series, responding well to setbacks. Ben Earl, George Martin and Sam Underhill all rushed to Damian McKenzie’s clearance…

…and England get a lineout between the All Blacks’ 10-metre line and their 22-metre line. They call a three-man lineout, which leaves Earl, the two props and Chandler Cunningham-South in midfield. Note the position of Immanuel Feyi-Waboso as Smith serves Cunningham-South:

A phase later, England arrive at the corner with Henry Slade at first receiver and Freddie Steward linking up with Tommy Freeman. George Martin, who had lifted Maro Itoje at the initial lineout, has remained on this near side. But it is only a decoy, it seems:

Fin Baxter carries the ball as England come back into the pitch after a wide scrum. Watch Smith scan the bottom left corner of the screen. Feyi-Waboso has clearly swapped places with Martin:

In the scoring phase, it is important that Smith is surrounded by forward runners. This helps keep the New Zealand defensive line compact, Tele’a, closest to the camera, is flat, clearly expecting another carry:

Instead, Smith pushes the ball into space beyond Tele’a with enough height and distance for Feyi-Waboso to come onto the ball. The finish itself is exceptional. Feyi-Waboso gathers and gets up on his right foot, past Tele’a in the back and McKenzie in the cover, and keeps his balance to score:

Change wing

Again, the second try starts well before Freeman’s superb jump. England use the lanky Northampton Saint as a specialist in the clearance. Here, after McKenzie’s second goal from the penalty spot, Freeman and Feyi-Waboso swapped wings:

Freeman charges in and creates confusion, and could have gotten an obstruction penalty from Ethan de Groot. Scott Barrett just happens to lose the ball and Martin gets the ball anyway:

England move onto the pitch and Alex Mitchell probes with a grubber:

The ball was then deflected into the free-kick area, where McKenzie scored. And England needn’t have cared. England obviously like to attack on balls that land on the goal line, as they provide an effective platform for set-pieces, which is part of the reason why they strike so much in the opposition half.

In this case, McKenzie clears. We see that Freeman has remained on the right wing:

Mitchell catches in the backfield and Earl provides the impetus:

A sparkling sequence follows, with England visibly looking around. Mitchell is firing red hot bullets here…

…and a few phases later, thanks to a good carry from Will Stuart, Underhill chooses and launches:

Feyi-Waboso, who acts as a punching winger in this attack, is then carried into midfield. Note that McKenzie patrols the backfield and moves to cover the outside of Stephen Perofeta on the far wing:

The crucial moment is when Codie Taylor concedes a penalty advantage, as Smith heads to the boot a phase later. Freeman had to rush to the touchline to create that opportunity:

Again, the flat runners in the scoring phase, among them the tireless Feyi-Waboso, are important. McKenzie is flat here…

..and a higher kick allows Freeman to use his spring effectively:

Trajectory is key with these attacking kicks, as we saw in the first Test. McKenzie finds Sevu Reece by sending the ball over Freeman’s head:

If it had been higher, Freeman might have turned around and tackled Reece sooner than he did.

Kicking will remain a vital part of England’s game plan under Steve Borthwick, although its use could change over time.

The dangers of defense and the need for balance

An exchange of kicks on the hour mark on Saturday gave New Zealand the lead after England had dominated the pitch for most of the third quarter. After a clearance from Mitchell, a foot pass from McKenzie opened the play.

Although Smith covers to tackle Anton Lienert-Brown…

…what happens in the next recovery phase is crucial. Freeman, Slade and Earl all group together. Mitchell and Itoje also find themselves in close proximity. Freeman clearly serves as if Jordie Barrett has come into the side to replace him, but the result is that England have six players around the ruck:

Further back, Jamie George, Martin, Fin Baxter and Dan Cole are side by side in a vulnerable defensive line:

And the All Blacks eliminate them:

From there, trailing 18-17, England maintained their commitment to the kicking attack. This was perhaps encouraged by New Zealand’s dominance in Dunedin, where the tourists lost eight rucks. At Eden Park, England kicked 10 times in the opposition half, compared to five times at Forsyth Barr Stadium. By comparison, New Zealand kicked seven times in the English half in the first Test and only three times in the second.

Fin Smith had an assist well taken by Beauden Barrett and then from the ensuing throw-in England produced a fine first half of play. Slade pulled the ball past Lawrence to Fin Smith and Feyi-Waboso came round to carry the ball:

In the next phase, Mitchell bounces back and serves Itoje, but a laborious tackle slows the attack:

Slade must join the fray…

…and England have one less defender for the next phase. They will nevertheless have to face a defensive line with a pillar, Ofa Tu’ungafasi, in midfield:

Still, Lawrence doesn’t try to link up with Earl on the far touchline. He pushes forward and Beauden Barrett covers again:

The next stop is an English scrum set up in their 22-yard box. Kicking should remain a part of England’s arsenal, but decision-making in and around the opposition’s 22-yard box will be another priority for improvement in their next game in the autumn.

The overall balance of the backline, including the composition of the midfield and the identity of its full-back, are issues to ponder, as is the inclusion of runners who can beat tacklers in one-on-one situations. More of these players, such as Ollie Sleighthholme, increases the incentive to keep the ball in hand.

Borthwick will not be deterred as the margins were extremely small in New Zealand. That said, beating the All Blacks at Twickenham in November now seems more important.