The build-up to the men's Rugby World Cup is underway, all teams have played their first warm up game and squads are being whittled down from this week onwards.
The challenge for us at the moment is to watch these matches within the correct context and not as they may appear from the outside. To view each team through our own lens, with last season’s perception of where they are in terms of rankings and form, would be naïve. There’s a new season underway and different approaches are being taken, which means these teams are at different stages of their periodised preparation.
Without seeing behind the scenes or being aware of their approach, it’s hard to know how each aspect of the game is being prioritised in any of the camps.
We know that Wales under Warren Gatland have been talking up their superior physical qualities as a result of their physical fitness programming. Yet, their attack was blunt in the first half against England, until they bludgeoned their way into a rhythm and got the better of Borthwick’s struggling side in the second half. They’ve looked to get physically ready first, and polish the game plan afterwards.
Whereas England looked dangerous in the first half. Marcus Smith drew in defenders with the likes of Marchant singing off the same Harlequins-style hymn sheet.
If it was a deficit of physical fitness that got Wales over the line, then it’s not too late for England to catch up on that front, under the World-Cup winning guise of Aled Walters, I’m sure there’s a plan in place for them not to be caught by a fitter team when the real competition kicks off.
Each team is currently finding their own combinations too, which means we haven’t really seen what they will bring to their World Cup form or strategy either. A few positions in a team can really change the influence and with a bigger prize up for grabs in the coming weeks, the attention given to games can be quite different as well.
I would expect professionals to compete as hard as possible, but the mind is a fascinating thing and comfort zones can still exist for some, until a player really has to find the extra gear during the competition.
The Southern Hemisphere teams played their usual Rugby Championship at this time of the year instead of 'warm-up’ games, but you’d wonder how each camp is approaching these games in reality.
New Zealand appeared to treat the tournament as they normally would, selecting quite strong at the start and then introducing some changes unlike the rotation of the South Africans, who have shown that the competition is the most important thing in the past, and everything in the build-up is merely shadowboxing. However, momentum is with the All Blacks and they’ve turned a corner in terms of how their World Cup challenge is being perceived. They are coming back to their best right in time for the World Cup.
It's clear that throughout the periodisation and prioritisation of different factors of the game, Ireland have put their game strategy at the forefront. According to their players, they used their rugby to get conditioned and didn’t get conditioned to play rugby.
There are still some preparations to go for the team, only starting their pre-World Cup matches last weekend. Littered with uncharacteristic errors such as handling in the contact area and set piece blunders, they also played with an attacking grace and flow that looked more advanced than some of the other tier one nations on show during their first outing.
Italy might have been the perfect warm-up game. They play a nice brand of rugby with the quickest ruck speed in last year’s Six Nations, meaning they will challenge your defence and force a lot of decision making. They’re also a physical and passionate team so you’ll get a proper challenge regardless of where their warm-up camp stands. Yet, they’re manageable and Ireland recorded a comfortable win while going through their attacking structures.
We learned about some of the Irish players too, which isn’t always guaranteed when it’s a warm up and to qualify any hunch on a players form requires an asterisk.
Iain Henderson appeared to be in fine form, his explosive power in contact looked synonymous with his pre-injury form.
Caelan Doris is a level above most at the moment. His decision making and general athleticism make him close to unplayable at times. He is a key figure for Ireland, no matter which number he wears on his back.
Jack Crowley has laid down a marker for Ross Byrne. He flowed through Ireland’s attack again, and switched to full-back to facilitate Ciaran Frawley’s challenge at out-half, yet he kept the same involvement as a key decision-maker in their strategy. Himself and Frawley interchanged seamlessly, bringing an impressive flow at times, this early on in their preparations.
Joe McCarthy had his most mature performance to date, ballistic in attack and destroying the opposition maul. He’s done himself no harm in terms of World Cup selection.
However, focus turns to England at the Aviva in two weeks, which will be a different challenge for Farrell and co. England will need to step it up a notch after the disappointment of last weekend. With their squad announced yesterday, there’ll be a different atmosphere in camp. Borthwick has done some mental gymnastics with players being unsure of their position due to the number of squad announcements. The final one will surely allow his players to focus with a small bit more comfort.
Ireland will also welcome back some of their big guns and take their performance to another level. There may be a nasty undertone for Irish players, England were the ones that derailed their progress in the 2019 cycle. First during the Six nations and again in a warm up match in Twickenham. Don’t expect to see the same embarrassment at the Aviva in two weeks.
No doubt Andy Farrell will lean into that experience and repair the mental damage that was done that day.
The shadowboxing will continue in the next couple of weeks. However, we’re getting closer to the real thing and each teams approach and strategy will become much clearer. Which pre-season approach will hold up under the highest level of scrutiny? We have a lot more to find out between now and the beginning of the tournament.
