by England coach Richard Wigglesworth has defended the team’s defensive approach in their defeat to Scotland, promising to learn from ‘fundamental mistakes’ in attack.
After starting well at Murrayfield with George Furbank’s slick effort from strike play in the opening minutes, England then lost their way, making 25 handling errors as they slipped to a fourth successive defeat at Scotland for the first time since 1896 .
“It’s not so much about deviating from the plans but we didn’t really play like us,” Wigglesworth said. “We didn’t play how we were going and how we were building, and that was the disappointment for everyone.
“There were times when we weren’t attacking the line, times when we were passing early from the line and not challenging the line, and then we made fundamental errors because of doing things that we haven’t done recently. a couple of weeks. Errors will happen in test matches, but errors when you are trying to put your best foot forward and challenge a defense is one thing, unchallenged errors are another.
“Your error rate increases if you’re doing something you’re not used to. We’re used to challenging the line, moving the ball, getting a fastball, and we’ve been away from most of those things.”
Wigglesworth was preparing to review his attack with the squad on Thursday evening, but he admitted the players had become concerned about the style England were trying to produce, so uncharacteristic mistakes such as Ollie Lawrence’s pass were piled up to just in touch.
“We were very reflective after that. I think because we didn’t play the way we wanted it probably becomes a bit more risky, because you don’t practice [playing that way],” Wigglesworth said.
“We looked a bit tense and maybe more tense as things went on. We will take what we have learned and make sure that if we make mistakes trying to attack like England do, we will be better. We will learn from them. It is difficult to learn from errors when we are not attacking as we would like. That will be a great learning for us, what is our mentality, always trying to look like us. If things don’t go right, we will improve and take the lessons. We’re reviewing a little bit of the mindset, how I coached him, how we got to that point.”
Asked how difficult it is to ensure players stick to attacking shapes at international level, Wigglesworth replied: “I think everyone is in shape and looking good at the minute. Lads, it’s not what he scores, go and see. It’s challenging defenses and players, making sure I’m able to get players in the best spots for them to go and attack the opposition and make things happen. That’s something we didn’t do well at the weekend. We started to see some development of that in the first couple of games and we didn’t see it at the weekend, so it was disappointing.”
England will train in front of a crowd of 8,500 in York on Friday, with Alex Mitchell and Marcus Smith joining the group to continue their injury rehabilitation. Wigglesworth described Friday as a “big day for them” in terms of their recovery, although neither player will be training with the group. England are still “hopeful” they could be involved by the end of next week before they face Ireland.
For Wigglesworth, Lancashire born and bred, the opportunity to train in the north of England has been welcomed with open arms. England’s last Test back in 2019 came against Italy in Newcastle, and Wigglesworth remembered watching England play the Netherlands in a Rugby World Cup qualifier in Huddersfield back in 1998, a 110-0 victory in which England scored 16 tries. .
“We know Twickenham is the traditional home of English rugby and there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s a great place to play, but I grew up up north, I know how passionate the people here are about the game, and I’d love to see us have these weeks,” he said.
“It is a game that is well supported and played. My son plays on Sundays, my nephew plays on Sundays at Preston, I grew up playing at Fylde and Preston Grasshoppers and these places. They are out of position in their rugby, and the same in Yorkshire.
“So it’s great to be here, and we’re fully aware that not everyone can come to Twickenham, but we want to make sure that England rugby is for everyone, and we’re fully invested in being a part of it.” of.”
Asked about another Test north, Wigglesworth replied: “More important [people] I don’t make those decisions – I’d love to play a Test in every town in the country. We know that there is a business and everything else to run. Hopefully at some point that’s a good option for England rugby, but we want to make sure we’re engaging everyone, not just where we’re based.”
