After watching New Zealand, South Africa, England and Ireland – the four most-fancied teams at the World Cup – play their first matches over the weekend it is already clear how much of a weapon tactical kicking is going to be. All four teams needed no second invitation to put boot to ball. In England’s case it was maybe a little too much but, as I have said before in these pages, they are the best tactical kicking team in the world so it is no surprise they played to their strengths.
I see it as a popular way of playing at this tournament for a number of reasons. First, the conditions. Whether it is rain, as was the case for Ireland’s emphatic win over Scotland, or a slippery, sweaty ball as with England against Tonga, we are seeing teams more comfortable without the ball. On top of that defences are so strong now that more often than not they are going to be on top. If you add in the fact that the offside line is not being policed as strictly as it could be, then teams with the ball are under so much pressure that kicking becomes a way of negating that line speed.
Even a team like Russia were so aggressive off the line and it can be really hard to play against. It can be done – that 10-minute blitz from New Zealand showed how – but most of the time the defending team has 13 men on their feet. They play with two, or maybe even one, in the backfield so the kicking game is a very effective way of getting round that press defence. Maybe this is going to be a World Cup where not having the ball is best in certain areas. You can be in the middle of the field with the ball, turn it over and all of a sudden you are defending a lineout on your own try line. You also have to consider that at the back of the mind of defenders there is the worry of taking the chaser out in the air.
In the All Blacks against South Africa match I fully expected the Springboks to go after George Bridge and Sevu Reece in the air, which they did, but Aaron Smith turned the tables on them and New Zealand came out on top in the aerial battle, particularly in that period when they seized control of the match. It was the same with Ireland. Conor Murray was on the money, as was Johnny Sexton, with Jacob Stockdale, Jordan Larmour and Andrew Conway leading the chase against Scotland.
• Fixtures, tables and results
• Top try and points scorers
• Stadium guide
• Referee guide
• Our latest minute-by-minute live reports
• Sign up to The Breakdown, our free rugby union email newsletter
Team guides
Pool A: Ireland, Japan, Russia, Samoa, Scotland
Pool B: Canada, Italy, Namibia, New Zealand, South Africa
Pool C: Argentina, England, France, Tonga, USA
Pool D: Australia, Fiji, Georgia, Uruguay, Wales
England were equally impressive in the air but, if I have one complaint about their performance, it is that they kicked a little too often when they might have shown more ambition. They just kicked away possession a bit too much. They have a certain style of playing with George Ford and Owen Farrell there. We know that England are going to play that way, back their defence and use the aerial battle, which they used very well. Jonny May was brilliant before he went off, Anthony Watson as well. But it was more the situations where there was turnover ball, in and around the halfway. When Tonga kicked poorly, for at least the first hour England just kicked it back.
It is an effective way of playing but you saw what happened when Watson decided to put the afterburners down and have a bit of a crack. Yes, it was against tiring defence and I’m not saying it was a poor tactic but in certain situations, turnover ball or when Tonga kicked poorly, they had an opportunity to play a couple of phases. They could have stretched it to the edge – they have kickers on the edge, May can kick, Watson can kick, Daly can kick, so I just think they could have got the ball there a little bit more.
England’s kicking is fantastic, there is such clarity to it, and everyone knows precisely what they need to do. You see it off kick-offs, exiting from their 22, whether it’s five- or six-man lineouts, whether they are driving then a box kick, or there’s one phase with Billy Vunipola hitting up and then a box-kick from there or use Ford and Farrell with those high crossfield kicks. It may be a bit predictable but it’s hard to stop. We will see plenty more of it. I would have just liked to see a bit more variety against Tonga.