London: Andy Farrell has mounted a staunch defence of England’s defence, suggesting it is being developed as a weapon of mass destruction and is already spreading fear among rival teams.
The man charged with creating an impregnable white line dismissed the issue of missed tackles as a red herring, as the national team continued their preparations for the next stage of the Grand Slam crusade at home to Italy on Sunday.
When France came to Twickenham in the last round of this RBS Six Nations, Wesley Fofana was allowed to scorch down the left flank through a cluster of flailing Englishmen to score a long-range try. But Farrell refused to criticise the players for those and other defensive lapses.
While a total of 21 tackles were missed by England in that last match, the former Great Britain rugby league captain was encouraged by the intent shown.
His overall message is that a few rough edges are acceptable in the pursuit of sustained aggression. “I wouldn’t want us to be a passive defensive side who back off,” he said. “For somebody like Courtney Lawes, for example, to get off the line to put the fear of whatever into somebody’s mind, the next time that guy is taking the ball up he is not thinking pretty thoughts. He is thinking ‘where is Courtney Lawes?’.
“So there is a difference between a glaring one-on-one missed tackle and the team saying ‘let’s go and get them’. That is why we are hard to play against.”
Asked if he is attempting to develop a defence to induce fear in opponents, he added: “Definitely. If you ask most teams we have played against so far, they would back that up.
“We are a side that likes to go and get the ball back as soon as possible, force errors on the opposition and make sure they realise it will be a physical, hard game, especially when they have the ball in hand.
“It is massively important. Teams can already see the difference in what we are trying to do.
“There will be other implications we need to be mindful of along the way. No defensive system is unbreakable. But we want to have a reputation that we are a force to be reckoned with as far as defence is concerned.”
Farrell conceded that the best defensive teams in the world are not necessarily also the most feared, but argued that England are striving for a balance, so that they are not only efficient but also forbidding in their approach.
Assessing the merits of other national teams, he said: “Shaun Edwards has done a good job with Wales. They have been difficult to break down over a long period of time. New Zealand technically are good, but I don’t think they get off the line the same as we would, they tend to keep numbers around the ruck and drift.
“The Irish hold people up and get a lot of joy from that. There are a lot of different ways of going about things. We want our own style.”
His own impact on England’s defence is part of a wider trend for ex-league players and coaches to make their presence felt in union as defensive gurus, along with the likes of Phil Larder, Edwards, Mike Ford and Dave Ellis.
First came professionalism and organisation then, gradually, Farrell has noted an increase in offensive intensity in players’ tackling.
He added: “We are now seeing more forceful, in-your-face defences. The fact is you are on the gain line and you might as well go push them back.”
To this day, the one-time kingpin of Wigan and Great Britain rugby league teams stays in touch with the 13-man code, along with just about every game of rugby that is televised.
“I watched three league games last weekend,” said Farrell. “I watch most NRL games, all the Super 15 games and all the Premiership games as well.
“My wife absolutely hates it, but it’s good now that I’m a coach — I can get away with it because I can tell her it’s for work!”
Meanwhile, England prop Dan Cole is gearing up for a front-row duel with fellow Leicester tighthead Martin Castrogiovanni, who has adopted an unusual method of unsettling his English rival.
Asked if there were any “trash-talk texts” flying back and forth, Cole said: “You occasionally get a picture message from him — pictures of himself — I”ll leave that to your imagination!”
He didn’t rule out some mutual sledging at Twickenham, either, adding: “There might be some of that at the back of a line-out, if we can catch our breath for long enough.”
