Ireland accelerated away from England, scoring 22 unanswered points in as many minutes in the second half.
It isn’t the first time England have faded in the second half. It was a feature of their autumn defeats by New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. I think there are two aspects to it.
Firstly, their gameplan is very demanding. Perhaps too demanding.
In defence, they come up with a lot of line speed, phase after phase. Then in attack, they are focusing on moving the ball, involving forwards and backs. It can feel frenetic and frantic, burning through energy. It is certainly hugely ambitious. Ultimately I think they pay for it in the back end of games.
There needs to be someone who calms down the team and, occasionally, takes pace out of the match. At the moment, they are wedded to this all-action plan A, which is effective but very hard to sustain over the course of 80 minutes without a bench who can replicate what the starting team have done.
There was a stoppage in the second half, when Ireland were ahead, but the game was still in the balance, during which England’s players were standing around in ones and twos having conversations, rather than getting huddled up and working out where they can get back at Ireland.
Every team has to face those moments and it is up to the number eight and half-backs as much as the captain to bring everyone together to work out a strategy and get on the same page.
As I alluded to, the second part of England’s tendency to peter out of games is what should be part of the solution – the replacements.
I thought Fin Smith added to England when he came on in the final 15 minutes. There is something about him. He is supremely composed and invariably picks good options to keep the team moving forward in attack.
