How New Zealand exploited England’s Blitz defence
The question on everyone’s lips heading into Saturday’s test match: how would England defend?
After the shock resignation of Felix Jones following the summer tour, Joe El-Abd was appointed as the new England defence coach.
When speaking to El-Abd in early October, whilst reluctant to call the style of defence ‘blitz’ as coined by his predecessor, he remained eager for his defensive style to showcase intent on getting off the line and making tackles.
Therefore, on Saturday, during England’s defensive sets, it was no surprise to see that the blitz style of defence that was becoming a mainstay of this side since the World Cup was still present under El-Abd. The hosts worked tirelessly to get off the line and apply pressure on the All Blacks, forcing a flurry of mistakes.
England made 178 tackles across the game, 77 more than the All Blacks. With that many tackles made, what did it show us about the way England want to defend moving forward, and how did the All Blacks manage to expose its weaknesses?
Where it went well for England:
It’s well understood by now that the style of defence that England play is one that comes with great risk but also great reward when successful.
Getting off the line with intent, cohesion, and defensive understanding is critical, and there were various examples in Saturday’s match where England got it right.
The intent is to put the opposition under pressure and force mistakes. A clear example was in the 42nd minute, as both teams came out of the blocks quickly after the half-time break, New Zealand launched a set play from a scrum on the left-hand touch-line.
Caleb Clarke came off his wing to crash the ball up on the first phase; after that, the All Blacks looked to spread it wide to Will Jordan on the other side of the pitch. However, with New Zealand posing no threat of deceptive running lines, Tommy Freeman was able to make the read and shoot up out of the line, hitting Jordan as he took the pass.
Under pressure and caught behind the gain line, Jordan dropped the ball, and Henry Slade, playing catch-up defender, kicked it through, meaning New Zealand had to regather possession inside their own 22. Talisman Beauden Barrett was forced into a clearance kick, giving England an attacking lineout and a 20-metre gain from where the initial New Zealand scrum was.
There were other defensive sets where England were able to get off the line and make dominant hits, which proved just where this style of defensive system can provide huge dividends.
Such as Chandler Cunnigham-South’s rib-crunching tackle on Tupou Vaa’i. Whilst, of course, it was perfect tackle technique, he was only able to blindside Vaa’i because he was playing that wide role of the out-to-in defender.
We also saw examples of where England employed what is less obvious about a blitz style of defensive system which is all about the catch-up defender. When players shoot out of the line, there is always an inside man ‘catch-up’ on the inside.
For England, the catch-up player is typically a front-rower, with the other quicker defenders, such as the loose forwards, further out in the defensive line, ready to shoot up.
For example, in the 61st minute, Tom Curry flies out of the line to make a dominant hit on Scott Barrett; however, the All Blacks captain gives a tip-on pass on the inside to Tyrel Lomax, who goes back to the gap that Curry left.
Fin Baxter does an excellent job as the catch-up to make the hit on Lomax; however, Lomax also gets a pass away to Cam Roigard. However, Dan Cole, as the secondary catch-up defender from the other guard position, does incredibly well to make another tackle, shutting down the attack.
It seems innocuous in real-time; however, pieced together and done cohesively, it is incredibly efficient.
How the All Blacks opened the gap:
However, with a new defensive coach and up against one of the best attacking sides in the world, England leaked costly tries as their system was exploited, and it’s important to recognize when and where.
The major weakness that the All Blacks were able to identify was down the short side, more specifically exposing the catch-up defender.
With England eager to get off the line and make dominant collisions down the open side where New Zealand shaped to go. Instead, at the last minute, half-back Cortez Ratima or even Barrett would switch and catch the England defence on the short side unaware.
The first instance was for the opening try of the game, with the finish by Mark Tele’a in the corner. New Zealand had possession inside England’s red zone. Ratima initially looked to be going towards the space; however opted to give the pass to Wallace Sititi, who drew in two defenders and managed to get the offload away to Tele’a.
With the two defenders drawn in, it was left to Ellis Genge, who was initially the guard defender at the fringe of the ruck, to play catch up and had no chance against the pace of Tele’a, who was able to finish.
New Zealand’s second try was once again an identification of the space on the short side.
New Zealand had a lineout outside England’s 22. They launched a play with Beauden going to his brother to Jordie Barrett, who looked to give an inside pass for Tele’a. However, he left the pass hanging, and the ball was allowed to bounce. Fortunately for him, though, he was able to regather.
Play went on another phase; and Ratima again shaped to go back towards the traffic. However, he got a call from Beauden, who had clearly spotted a mismatch on the short side.
Beauden looped around, taking the pass on an arching line, drawing Genge once again away from the fringe of the ruck as catch-up, and then gave an inside ball to Jordan, who walked through a gap that Genge had just left. With no catch-up defender, because Beauden and Jordan had essentially run a scissor move, Jordan had an easy enough finish for a player of his calibre.
There were various instances throughout where gaps opened up in the England defensive line, to be exploited by the dangerous All Blacks. For example, in the 56th minute, Ardie Savea almost went bulldozing through a major gap in the England line, only for a great cover tackle from Tom Curry, forcing a knock-on.
It was clear that the All Blacks had done their defensive homework on how to best exploit the weakness in the England defence, which proved key to them securing victory.
Where do they go from here?
Once again, England came out on the wrong side of a tight result. Borthwick’s side have a lot to focus on before coming up against the Wallabies this week.
Whilst Australia aren’t the side they once were, Head Coach Joe Shmidt is one of the most brilliant tactical rugby minds in the game. There’s no doubt that with a visit to the Allianz, he will be devising new ways to try and exploit that English defence.
