England back row Ben Earl has urged his side to up the tempo and prove that “speed wins” in modern rugby union as they take on Wales.
Steve Borthwick’s side enter the final Six Nations weekend hoping to put the pressure on France with a bonus point victory in Cardiff with Les Bleus taking on Scotland in the denouement to Super Saturday.
While their title fate is out of their hands, England will want a strong finish to a tournament in which they have warmed to their work as they seek a first four-win campaign since 2020.
Borthwick has made a number of bold calls in his starting side, with Tommy Freeman given a first international start at centre and Earl again joined by the Curry twins, Ben and Tom, in a mobile, scavenging back row.
The same combination also started against Ireland on the opening weekend and, while Tom Willis and Chandler Cunningham-South lurk as more sizeable options, the inclusion of potential debutant Henry Pollock is another nod to England’s desire to play with pace.
Earl believes it reflects a trend more widely within the sport of speed mattering most.
“The thing you are seeing around the park is speed wins,” Earl explained. “France is the classic case: [wing Louis] Bielle-Biarrey is the quickest person I have seen play the game and every time he gets the ball he can make something happen.
“Speed seems to be more of a priority to some teams than others but for us, we are talking a lot about moving the ball, being aggressive, outworking teams. The players we have got buy into that.
“The idea of Chandler, Henry and Tom coming off the bench at some point in the second half, that is pretty daunting. That’s pretty cool.
“We have a way that we want to play but we pride ourselves on being adaptable and going back to things we’re very good at. The kicking game would be one of those, we think our pack can go toe to toe with almost anyone. There are things we can revert back to, there’s a game plan we want to play but speed is a big thing we want for sure.”
Earl is England’s first port of call for centre cover should injury strike either Fraser Dingwall or Freeman. The 27-year-old has featured occasionally in midfield towards the end of games over the last year, though is yet to be deployed at the position for an extended period for either club or country.
In Paris, France again have opted to go without specialist centre cover having seen flanker Oscar Jegou perform impressively for the final half-an-hour against Ireland in a statement win last week.
Earl has been running at 12 in training regularly during this tournament and has played down the extra mental and physical load required of offering versatility, insisting that the two skillsets are interchangeable.
“That is the magic of the 6/2, that is what it gives you,” he explained. “You saw Jegou come on last week and he was tremendous. The crossover is crazy between a centre and a back rower. Anyone who has played will know it is the same position, you just wear a different number and defend in a slightly different position off a scrum. That is basically the only slight technical difference. You just go and play rugby and see what happens.
“I do some bits [with the backs] but I don’t do it all because I have a job to do. It is not something you overthink. It is just rugby at the end of the day, I mean literally half the stuff I do is basically as a 12 anyway. It is not too dissimilar.”
