Several England players were in action for the British and Irish Lions in their narrow defeat at the hands of South Africa in their summer tour. Maro Itoje, Tom Curry, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Jamie George, Mako Vunipola, and Marcus Smith were all part of Warren Gatland’s team.
Although the end result was disappointing, the England players will inevitably have gained valuable experience to further develop their skills, gaining an insight into the approach and skill set of their usual Six Nations rivals. The Red Rose recorded one of their worst performances in recent history in the 2021 Six Nations, finishing second bottom of the standings after losing three out of their five matches.
Eddie Jones’ men are currently backed at 9/4 in the rugby union odds to win the Six Nations in 2022. However, it will take a dramatic turnaround, and the Lions tour proved to be illuminating given the choices of an elite coach in Gatland and his perspective on the best, creative players from Britain and Ireland. England were well-staffed in the forward line with Itoje and Curry leading the way in the second row and flanker respectively, while Cowan-Dickie and Vunipola were also active.
However, the Red Rose were only represented in the backfield by Anthony Watson and Elliot Daly, with the former playing two matches and the latter one. Neither Owen Farrell nor Ben Youngs were active in the three matches, although the latter ruled himself out of the series. Youngs may not have likely been selected anyway due to the form of Connor Murray, Gareth Davies and Ali Price. Farrell was named in the squad but was overlooked in favour of Dan Biggar and Finn Russell in the starting role at fly-half, plating only 16 minutes across the series.
It’s a concern for Jones that none of his playmakers were considered better than their counterparts from elsewhere in Britain and Ireland. Given the opinion of Gatland and England’s disappointing performance in the Six Nations, it could prompt Jones to make drastic changes. Farrell and Youngs have been cemented in their roles at fly-half and scrum-half for a number of years and have been great servants for the Red Rose.
They were outstanding in the 2019 World Cup and have excelled in runs to Six Nations titles, including their 2016 Grand Slams. Smith is waiting in the wings and he dazzled in relief of Russell in a warm-up match against the Stormers for the Lions, highlighting his potential. There are candidates to replace Youngs, such as Harry Randall and Alex Mitchell, which will put pressure on the 31-year-old.
The issues for England do not end there, as their centre position needs to be turned over as well. Henry Slade has failed to match the potential he displayed in the early stages of his career, while Manu Tuilagi has had longstanding issues with discipline and fitness. Ollie Lawrence is knocking on the door after making his debut for the Red Rose in 2020. Joe Marchant, Dan Kelly and Max Ojomoh will all be striving to push for a Six Nations spot as Jones may have to turn the page on some of his veterans in order to ensure that his team are dynamic enough to compete with their rivals.
