Our analyst is back this week and studies how Scotland won the breakdown battle against England in their impressive Six Nations victory.
It’s true that Scotland’s win over England was an upset, but it’s not as much of an upset as it may have first appeared. Scotland were terrible against Wales, but their rise towards Six Nations contenders has been stratospheric.
Scotland have a bunch of talented players all across their team but they have been guilty of not all playing at their full potential all the time. That wasn’t the case on Saturday, the backline were exceptional but the key to the entire game was the work of their forwards at the breakdown.
England had 123 rucks and they lost 10 of them, that’s a success rate of 91%. That sounds good, but most teams want to be operating above the 96% mark in ruck success rate. The Scottish forwards, but especially the back-row, were causing a constant nuisance at the breakdown even when they weren’t turning over the ball. The forwards’ work rate was sensational in all areas of the pitch; Jonny Gray made 24 tackles, that’s 10 more than anybody else on the pitch, John Barclay made 12 tackles without a single miss, Hamish Watson ran 10 times and beat three defenders, Stuart McInally made six runs for 28 metres. It was truly an exceptional performance all round and it laid the platform for the backs to run wild.
In this first example, Grant Gilchrist and McInally team up for the tackle. The hooker takes Mako Vunipola’s legs and Gilchrist just has to ride the tackle and then immediately get on the ball. It was mentioned in commentary that Vunipola was isolated, he’s not really it’s just that Gilchrist gets on the ball so quickly. His body position is perfect and it’s a relatively easy steal.
This next steal of the match is very similar, Gordon Reid takes Anthony Watson low and Hamish Watson rides the tackle and then immediately latches onto the ball. The flanker’s position is fantastic and despite the best efforts of Joe Launchbury and Courtney Lawes, he can’t be moved. One thing to look out for here is the decision making of Gray; the lock could jump into this ruck or even just stand and watch he gets into position instead for the next phase.
Barclay is one of the most underrated players in the northern hemisphere. He is spectacular at the breakdown and a dynamo in the loose who has made each team he’s played for better. In this clip, there’s another two person tackle; Gray and Simon Berghan. Berghan begins to get to his feet and Maro Itoje twists him out of the way. Unfortunately, the English player has nobody supporting him and Barclay is straight on the ball and again, his body position is immovable. That’s three steals from three different players after two person tackles.
When Scotland weren’t turning the ball over, they were turning the ruck into a chaotic battleground. In this example, the English are building momentum but Mike Brown goes into contact a little high and Hamish Watson and Berghan hold him up. Flanker Watson latches onto the ball and when Brown hits the ground he keeps his grip. This isn’t allowed, but as Richie McCaw taught us, nothing is illegal until the ref tells you it is. Watson is on the ball for barely a second, but that is enough to draw Danny Care into the ruck and Owen Farrell and make Jonny May play scrum-half which interferes with the English attacking shape.
This is very similar, Vunipola is a little high going into contact and Ryan Wilson latches onto the ball and holds him up. There’s two Scottish players in that breakdown but England have to commit four and even then they don’t get quick ball. This is an often overlooked part of the game, obviously you always want to turn the ball over but if you can’t do that – and the vast majority of the time, you can’t – then you want to make life as complicated as possible for the opposition.
Another double tackle, Wilson rides the tackle of Gilchrist and is immediately on his feet to play the ball. Gray jumps in as well and although the pair don’t steal the ball back, they prevent quick ball and it ends up firing out the back of the ruck. The work done by Wilson and Gray in this ruck leads to a turnover in the very next breakdown. Rugby is an interconnected series of events, if you disrupt one of them then it will pay dividends further down the line.
Yet again, a double tackle with Pete Horne taking the legs and Gilchrist going high and then getting on the ball. Itoje and Chris Robshaw clear out the ruck but that leaves just Care at the ruck, the scrum-half does a good job cleaning out Wilson but once he does that there’s nobody there and Finn Russell just snatches it and there’s another promising English attacking position snuffed out.
Anthony Watson is really wide on the ground and that gives Wilson a massive gate to charge straight through. Launchbury is very tall, expecting all the pressure to come through Vunipola before it gets to him. The most impressive thing about this example is the work of Barclay and Gray once Wilson gets through on the ball. They are so quick to get there and Barclay even gets back onside before getting through on the ball. There’s a huge amount of technique discussion in rugby, and it’s vitally important, but work rate is often overlooked. On Saturday, the Scottish work rate was higher than anything England could serve up and it’s one of the key reasons why they took the win.
Conclusion
Scotland frustrated the English at the breakdown and made England look nowhere near the side that they have been under Eddie Jones. After that performance, Scotland are right back in the Six Nations mix and face huge games against Italy, where they expect to get five points, and Ireland, where they need to make it two wins in a row against a quickly eroding Irish team. If that happens, then Scotland could win the Six Nations and Gregor Townsend will be launched into the true elite of international coaching.
Before we go, we can’t leave without reliving that sensational pass from Russell for Scotland’s second try. If they ever get to the point where stamps are made from gifs, then this should be the one Scotland use.
If I see a better pass than this in the next 10 years, I’d be incredibly surprised. Huw Jones has also been a sensational find and you can read more about how he ended up in the Scotland team here.
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