THE GREAT GAME

On Saturday night we saw a perfect example of rugby at its finest.

I’m going to put my neck on the line and say Wales were terrible. They were toothless in attack, with their main weapon being a sound retreat 10 metres behind the gain line each phase, their kicking game was errant and they were bested up front by the English pack. They had no right whatsoever to win that game, they were second best in pretty much every area.

Yet they did, courtesy of two people.

Dan Biggar should be awarded the freedom of Wales for that flawless kicking display because it was, without a shadow of a doubt, what kept Wales within touching distance of England. If the Ospreys fly-half had had a bad night with the boot then England probably would have been out of sight and won handily. As it was, Biggar kept popping the pill between the posts and always gave Wales a fighting chance of stealing something at the death.

The other is Chris Robshaw.

This will probably be debated until the end of the World Cup (and rightly so), but my opinion, for what it’s worth, is that Robshaw bottled the decision and it cost England very badly. England already had the bonus point secured against Fiji so they were one step ahead of Wales – they did not need to go for the four points. And whenever you consider that Robshaw had the also flawless Owen Farrell to call upon to kick for goal, it makes the decision even more bizarre.

In the big games, you take your points. The sense of bravado that whispers in your ear will only make you foolish and greedy, and with 80,000 England fans roaring him on, Robshaw stupidly gave in. He ignored the pleads of Farrell who was confident he could make the kick and he ignored the fact that if Farrell did score then England had a minute or two to get back up the pitch and manufacture a drop goal or force another penalty.

And most importantly of all, he ignored the fact that a draw would level out the two sides on points, while the loss puts them three behind Wales.

This is the side of the rugby you don’t see. Most times when a team goes to the corner instead of taking a kick at the posts, they will pull it off and rumble a maul over the line. But England’s cataclysmic error will serve as a stark reminder that it is by no means a given. It’s not called a “risk and reward” strategy for nothing.

But let’s be fair, Wales’ defence was exemplary. Every single defender hit the maul as if their lives depended on it and with one collective push they managed to force the English pack sideways and off the field, wrapping up the victory. For a side who were poor for most of the game, that moment alone was worthy of the victory.

I don’t blame Robshaw for trying it. The odds were in his favour – England had dominated the physical exchanges all night and with the crowd swelling behind them even I would have put money on the chariot rolling its way over the line to a raucous cry from the crowd. Had it come off Robshaw would have been hailed a hero and have taken all the plaudits after the game for having the mental strength to kick for the corner.

That, however, does not mean it was the right decision.

Still, it’s a learning curve for Robshaw, right? Wrong.

Anybody remember England’s ill-fated Autumn Series back in 2012? Game one, Twickenham: England, trailing Australia by 6 points, were piling on the pressure as they reached the last ten minutes of the game and drawing repeated penalties from the Wallabies. On that occasion, Robshaw elected every time to go to touch, turning down kickable penalty after kickable penalty in favour of going for the try. Eventually their efforts were fruitless, and they lost 20-14.

Fast forward to a week later – same venue, England vs. South Africa. England were trailing by 4 and had a very kickable penalty with two minutes to go, and it was Mr. Robshaw who was to make the call on what to do. This time he decided to go for goal, much to the dismay of the crowd, England lost the restart, and ultimately the game, 16-15. He was rightly criticised after those matches.

You would imagine those decisions were right at the forefront of Robshaw’s thinking when England were awarded the penalty on Friday night, and that’s probably what ultimately resulted in his downfall. Back in 2012 he was torn apart by the media for making the incorrect calls. This time he’s been torn apart for exactly the same thing.

All three times he’s made the wrong decision.

It does call into question his role as captain. True, the Wallabies and Springbok defeats did not matter in the long run as they were just Autumn Internationals, but this one does and it looks likely that it may result in them becoming the first ever hosts of a Rugby World Cup to go out at the pool stages (provided the excellent Australia do indeed win this weekend). An international captain has to keep a clear head and be able to make the correct decisions under pressure.

He has not.

But chin up Chris. You’re not out yet.