Aside from the sea views, the low-key town of Le Touquet on the Channel coast and bustling, cosmopolitan Nice on the Côte d’Azur could not feel more different. The two distant French cousins are also separated by about 900km but at least the long commute before Sunday’s game against Japan gives England the chance to reflect and contemplate the bigger picture.
Steve Borthwick’s team have been looking visibly more upbeat in the wake of last weekend’s 14-man win over Argentina and why not? Beat the Brave Blossoms and Chile and they then have a fortnight’s gap before their final pool game against Samoa on 7 October. Beyond that? A quarter-final against Eddie Jones’s Australia is not yet booked but seems almost written in the stars.
If England are to twinkle in the knockout stages, though, they need to use the next few weeks wisely. Forget for a moment the drop-goal fusillade from George Ford and the team’s defensive heroics against Argentina and consider their recent attacking stats. Seven tries in their last seven Tests – three of them at Twickenham – is not much to write home about and now would be a good moment to rediscover the art of getting over the whitewash regularly.
While the early loss of Tom Curry inevitably reduced England’s options last Saturday the attack coach, Richard Wigglesworth, did not dispute that his backline need to take more of their opportunities. “We took some good edges but didn’t make enough of them,” he admitted. By comparison with France, New Zealand, South Africa and Australia, among others, England’s counterattacking and offloading game very much remains a work in progress.
Watching them train it is obvious greater efforts are being made to try to develop something more multilayered but there remains a major emphasis on kicking and aerial work. The trick, as always, is to find the right balance and to give evasive runners such as Elliot Daly and Jonny May more chances to shine in broken field. With Henry Arundell struggling to catch the selectors’ eye, there is not a huge amount of out-and-out pace elsewhere.
It has been a while since Daly’s last try for England, which came off the bench against Italy in Rome 19 months ago, but he remains firmly convinced that higher-scoring days lie ahead. In particular, he says, available space is now being identified better than it was even a couple of months ago. “The way we’re seeing the game is way better than when we first came into camp. If we keep getting opportunities we’re definitely going to score some tries.”
In short, Daly insists there is “a lot more to come” from a backline that would clearly also benefit from quicker ruck ball and more dynamic momentum up front. If the promotion of Alex Mitchell to starting scrum-half looks like a belated attempt to assist the former, the suspension of Owen Farrell has also given Ford the chance to put his stamp on proceedings and underline why so many good judges have always rated him.
The most glaring example of the need for improvement during the game against Argentina came when a visibly frustrated May was bundled into touch on the right after a combination of crabbing across the field and inaccurate passing had contrived to shrink the space available. It was an obvious collective failure to exploit a clear opportunity, with Daly still blaming the variety of different systems and habits favoured by the assorted clubs at home.
If some of it boils down to confidence then decisiveness is also vital. “We know how good our attack can be, so hopefully in the next few games we’ll be able to show that,” says Daly. “We’re not saying we’re going to chuck the ball around [all the time] but we’re going to put ourselves in positions in attack to take the opportunities we create.”
Ultimately, though, keeping 15 players on the field for the full 80 minutes would make the biggest difference. While Japan would love an unstructured game, they are more likely to be confronted by an England side keen to pressurise them with their kicking game and set piece. “They like to throw the ball around which is always testing of any defence,” observes Daly. “That’s why you’ve got to be physical against them.”
He also reckons those calling for England to embrace a more “Bazball” approach should rewatch the opening game between France and New Zealand last Friday and factor in the conditions as well. “New Zealand obviously looked to play a little bit more with the ball and probably got themselves in a bit of trouble with that. With the conditions, there were a lot of turnovers. It doesn’t look very greasy on TV but it is. If they’re playing in the afternoon then it’s sweat; if not it’s probably dew.”
Sunday, even so, offers England a decent chance to massage their modest try strike-rate. If they are unable to do so, slicing through stronger teams later on will become even harder. Nice’s Promenade des Anglais is a popular stretch for holidaymakers fancying a leisurely evening stroll, but this would be a good weekend for England’s backs to show everyone they mean business.
