We may look back on this Six Nations, won by a team using a seven-one split of forwards on their bench, as the tournament that finally convinced us to take hybrid players seriously.
One subtle moment from France’s 42-27 defeat of Ireland in Dublin felt particularly poignant. Watch the position of Oscar Jégou in the defensive line as the hosts play in-field on the edge of their 22:
The 21-year-old, who had replaced Pierre-Louis Barassi as an emergency centre, is in the 12 channel. Ireland attempt to capitalise with wrap-around play. Jegou is initially fixed by Jack Crowley’s angle, but readjusts superbly. He swims off the dummy runner and chases down Sam Prendergast to force a turnover:
It is a snapshot of the demands that centres are put under. Ben Earl might not be familiar with clip, but can certainly expect to face similar scenarios in the future.
After spending just over half an hour at centre in Cardiff, helping England pull away from 28-7 ahead to thrash Wales 68-14, Earl was heralded as a viable option to wear 12 or 13. Whereas Eddie Jones floated the theory, Steve Borthwick has used the 27-year-old as a centre in practice. Prior to Saturday, Earl had brief midfield cameos against Japan, New Zealand and Italy.
This one at the Principality Stadium was initiated by Tommy Freeman’s departure. Henry Pollock arrived, slotting between the Curry twins in the back row and sending Earl into the backline.
The latter’s first involvement was an unfussy yet powerful carry that moved his team up the pitch from an awkward position. England do not possess too many flinty midfield carriers, especially in the absence of Ollie Lawrence, which makes Earl’s move such an attractive proposition:
Position shift in defence
Defence could be trickier and it was interesting that Earl shifted around. From this Wales line-out, he begins in the 10 channel with Fin Smith and Fraser Dingwall at 12 and 13 beyond him and Pollock on his inside:
This is important because Fin Smith, rather than Earl, is put under greater pressure. Ben Thomas takes the ball at first-receiver with Max Llewellen cutting a short angle and Jarrod Evans in behind. Fin Smith has the key decision of whether to brace for Llewellyn or push past the lead runner towards Evans:
As it happens, the connection on the pull-back is scruffy and Pollock can hurry through to tackle Evans:
What England will have to be wary of is that fielding nine natural forwards may cause their defensive line to constrict, simply because more players are used to being closer to the ruck rather than in open space and might tend to gravitate towards the ball.
This screenshot is from a couple of phases later. Maro Itoje, Pollock, Tom Curry, Earl and Chandler Cunningham-South are all quite bunched within 15 metres of the ruck:
Wales can find width beyond Elliot Daly on the near flank quite easily and Ellis Mee kicks ahead. Against a more dynamic attacking side, England could have been cut apart:
England present the same picture to Wales here, with Dingwall and Daly covering a large amount of space:
In this instance, Wales pick up around 25 metres because England must sit off. However, Joe Heyes and Ben Curry cover superbly…
…and the later pounces for a breakdown turnover:
Speaking of breakdown disruption, jackalling skills in the centre are always valuable. Levani Botia, formidable for Fiji and La Rochelle, has flitted between inside centre and openside freely, plundering opposition rucks in from both positions.
Earl moved to the 12 channel in defence when George Ford arrived from the bench:
And here, he does well to drift off the short line of Nick Tompkins to burrow in and cause a nuisance after Dingwall downs Joe Roberts. While there is no steal, a slow ruck foreshadows a strong defensive set for England:
In attack, there were signs that Earl can be an effective weapon.
Direct dynamism in attack
Again, breakdown expertise proves vital. Earl is in support as Daly is launched as a first-phase carrier:
Pollock steps up on the next phase, playing a pull-back behind Dingwall to Ford. Had the next pass invited Marcus Smith to attack the outside shoulder of Roberts, England might have cut through:
Later on, from the tail of a line-out maul, Earl offers himself off the shoulder of Dingwall in a typical pattern:
A short tip pass from Dingwall sends Earl into traffic and Wales are able to slow the attack:
On review, England might wonder whether a pull-back from Dingwall to Ford would have been a better option. Several defenders are fixed narrow with their shoulders facing inwards. Ford has Tom Roebuck arcing around from the blindside wing and Marcus Smith further wide.
Then again, Earl’s angle might have cut off the path to Ford anyway:
Earl continued to roam and popped up in a forward pod to take this tip from Fin Baxter:
On the back of Chandler Cunningham-South’s maul turnover, he tore up to the 22:
Here, from a scrum in the 74th minute, Earl is used as a decoy. He darts off Dingwall’s right shoulder...
...and the pull-back goes to Ford, who sends Daly through a half-gap up the middle:
Wales earn a counter-rucking turnover at the next breakdown, but England are cycling through an eye-catching repertoire with Earl learning all the time.
More unfamiliar roles
Initially upon moving to centre, Earl remained in his customary restart position...
...and fielded this kick:
When Tom Willis arrived, though, he shifted to centre-field:
Wales went after him, and were unlucky not to win back possession:
As Earl has admitted himself, a full-time transition will require more lessons – not that he is afraid of hard work.
Exhausting work-rate
Unfamiliar responsibilities are mentally and physically taxing and there was another passage in which Earl was evidently learning on the job.
It comes from a line-out, which he begins between Ford and Dingwall in the defensive line:
Thomas runs at Earl and a short pass sends Tompkins over the gain-line. Dingwall slows the carrier and Ford mops up:
Now watch Earl in the bottom right of the screen. He is called to the blindside in an attempt to ensure that England do not grow too narrow:
And ends up out wide, with only Jack van Poortvliet (out of picture) beyond him in the front line:
Wales move the ball in his direction again, and Tompkins’ pass sails forward. Look at how Van Poortvliet, who will have been organising the defence, congratulates Earl for some understated yet important graft:
This is the sort of ground that Owen Farrell would often cover, and is vital in helping a defensive line to retain its width.
Right at the end of the match, prior to Cunningham-South’s second try, Earl has a run from a midfield scrum:
And immediately offers himself at first-receiver on the next phase to lift an inside pass to Cunningham-South before following up to resource the ruck:
Relentless industry is what has propelled Earl from the periphery into an integral figure for this England side. Whether he is afforded game-time as a centre at Saracens is doubtful.
Earl has an enhanced elite player squad (EPS) contract and this could be an early case study for this new system. Then again, Mark McCall has numerous options.
Either way, if Earl refines himself sufficiently to be able to start Test matches at centre, his value to Borthwick will keep rocketing.
Match images courtesy of BBC and ITV
