French will be kicking themselves for gameplan lacking in adventure
FIRHILL on Friday, Stade de France on Saturday. I'm really starting to clock up the rugby air miles since my retirement. Although both games were decided in the closing minutes, they were vastly different sporting occasions. It's no surprise that the anticipation, tension and spectacle was much better at the Stade de France, which had the added significance of having 78,500 more supporters present than at Firhill. Nevertheless, the better rugby and more exciting game was undoubtedly witnessed in Glasgow's last-gasp win over Leinster.
The World Cup semi-final was almost a repeat of Scotland's match against Argentina, as both England and France preferred to kick the ball rather than run at the opposition. Whenever a game is decided by the side which makes the least errors, you know it has been no classic.
Springboks coach Jake White said before the competition that defence wins World Cups and it would be hard to argue with him on that point. However, I would say that the real importance of defence is what it does to the thinking of players and coaches, as the risk of taking on a defence seems to grow bigger the further you go in the tournament. There's no denying that modern defence has evolved in the last few years and it is much more difficult to find space with ball-in-hand, but there are still many opportunities for creative players to get in behind defences. Securing quick ruck ball, attacking effectively off first-phase or turnover ball and kicking intelligently are key areas where breakthroughs can still be made.
It is the latter sector of the game - kicking intelligently - where France let themselves down badly on Saturday night. Too many times they took the easy option of either hoisting up a high ball or kicking as long as possible - anything other than striving to find space somewhere in the field of play. France were frozen by the occasion and, although they had been initially shaken into life by England scoring at the beginning of the match, they seemed to get more nervous the longer the game went on.
In contrast to the predictions that there would be over 500,000 supporters along the Champs-Elysées celebrating a French win, it was the numerous England fans who seemed to be everywhere on Saturday night. With open-top buses decorated with flags of St George going through the French capital blasting out Rule Britannia, I think many Parisians decided wisely to stay indoors. It's been an amazing turnaround for the reigning world champions to make it through to the final, and an incredible situation for the players and coaching staff, who must have been fearing the worst when losing 36-0 to South Africa just a month ago.
England's defeat to the Springboks has had a galvanising effect on the team - after a bout of soul-searching, it would appear they have managed to instil a strong togetherness and a will to get things right. They have also been aided by the return from injury of two of their most important players, Jason Robinson and Jonny Wilkinson. Full-back Robinson was by some margin the best player on the field on Saturday night and his decision-making and positive attitude inspired those around him.
England might not possess the players to produce thrilling passages of play, but they certainly do the little things very well. Ian McGeechan used to say that a team has to win the "games within games" in order to succeed. What he meant was that every kick-off, every scrum and lineout and every breakdown must be viewed as a game itself. England have been outstanding at this in their two recent matches and consequently their relentless efficiency has drained the confidence from the opposition.
A week ago, I was celebrating the fact France had upset the odds and produced a stunning win against New Zealand. I felt it once again showed the wondrous unpredictability of sport and that you can never take things for granted when faced with a team full of passion and belief. However, in the cold light of day I regret the fact that the best side in the world, the team which played the most positive, skilful rugby had gone out too early. The World Cup has been full of drama and France has been a terrific host, but the early exit of the All Blacks virtually guarantees it will not be remembered for quality of play.
After all, for a team to have scored an average of only 14 points in two knockout matches isn't a great advert for the game. I'm not decrying England's tactics - they should be congratulated at playing the opposition and doing enough to win when it counts - but I hope the final is a showcase for attacking rugby, not a game dominated by fear of making mistakes.
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