England take on defending champions New Zealand in the Rugby World Cup semifinal on Saturday. England are in good form, having overcome Australia 40-16 in the quarter-final last week but the mighty All Blacks are another matter.
Steve Hansen's side have won the last two World Cups and have notlost a match in the tournament since their 2007 quarter-final defeat to France. It is a daunting prospect for Eddie Jones' men, who face their biggest test in his four years as coach.
There are, though, reasons to be optimistic about England's chances of felling New Zealand, making their first World Cup final since 2007 and lifting the Webb Ellis Cup...
Every minute of every day, Eddie Jones is thinking about rugby and for four years he has been consumed by winning the World Cup. He has been utterly ruthless in pursuing that goal whether that means first half substitutions, jettisoning half his senior player group or burning through backroom staff unable to tolerate his all-consuming demands. Everything is geared towards peaking this fortnight, the casualties that have piled up along the way are unfortunate collateral damage.
England coach Eddie Jones. Photo / Photosport
Since the draw was made in May 2017 and this semifinal collision course was set, his thoughts have been particularly dominated by beating the All Blacks. Last autumn, England came within a disallowed Sam Underhill try of achieving that feat. That 16-15 defeat probably did Jones a favour in demonstrating they are a match for New Zealand while keeping a lid on expectation levels. Make no mistake that Jones expects England to win and knows how to win in pressure situations. The hardest of taskmasters, Jones' methods will be vindicated once again if England are triumphant on November 2.
2. Tactics
At his very first press conference as head coach, Jones was clear that England needed to be England. The meant creating a dominant set piece, reestablishing the maul as a weapon, along with a physical defence with free-flowing backs. Four years on and England's scrum and lineout have a fear factor they have lacked for some time. In Mako Vunipola and Kyle Sinckler, England possess the best prop pairing in the world while the Saracens connection of Jamie George, Maro Itoje and George Kruis run the lineout. George finished last season having missed just one of his previous 101 throws.
England's George Ford. Photo / Photosport
Having waited seemingly an eternity for a true openside to emerge, Jones is now deploying two in Sam Underhill and Tom Curry in the back row. Yet the most impressive transformation has occurred behind the pack. The twin playmakers of George Ford and Owen Farrell, the power of Manu Tuilagi and the speed of Jonny May have provided England with a perfect attacking balance. Whether taking to the skies, going direct through the middle or seeking the edge, England have a veritable Swiss army knife to open up the toughest of defences.
Controlled aggression. Jones' biggest concern when he took charge was that England were too soft and lacking in mongrels to take take the fight to the bigger nations. Now England are laden with a pack of snarling bulldogs who can rattle bones in attack and defence. Crucially, it is harnessed aggression. Witness Australia's failed attempt to get under Kyle Sinckler's skin in the quarter-final. Under Jones too the old stereotype of arrogant England has been allowed to return. Unlike his predecessor Stuart Lancaster, Jones does not mind other nations hating England. However, he bristles at the suggestion that other players, particularly the Celts, are in any way more passionate about playing for their country. He wants England to step on to the field with their chests puffed, confident they are going to win every time they play.
4. Form
England have slowly got better throughout the tournament. Satisfactory against Tonga and USA, decent against the 14 men of Argentina and seriously impressive in the quarter-final against Australia. Jones has promised they are still coming to the boil. "We haven't played our best yet and the challenge for us is how do we get better next week," Jones said.
5. Fitness
England training session. Photo / Photosport
Probably Jones' biggest priority since taking charge. Training sessions became short and incredibly sharp. Lots of players have broken along the way, but Jones believes that it was a necessary price to get England's fitness up to scratch. It has been noticeable that England have pulled away in the final quarter of all four matches so far in Japan.
6. The player who will lead them there:
After some middling performances in the group stages, Owen Farrell delivered in the big match against Australia as he always does, kicking eight goals from eight kicks. In American terms, he is a clutch player.
Other fly halves will have better kicking percentages but there is no one you would take the tee with the kick to win the game. As captain, Farrell is England's playmaker, tone-setter and energy-provider. If he fires then England fire.
The only stumbling block could be...
England have an unfortunate habit of crumbling under pressure and there are few bigger stages to crack than a World Cup. They led New Zealand by 15 points only to lose. More jarringly, they blew a 31-0 lead against Scotland in the Six Nations.
Great teams don't blow two-score leads. Jones has promised that those issues have been fixed over the course of the summer training camps. But the doubts remain.
When momentum shifts against them in the semifinal, which it will undoubtedly do, the question is whether England can ride out the storm.
