England must dominate the aerial battle with Ford, Farrell and Youngs at the heart of their plan
To start with, a couple of statistics which may go some way to explaining why England have recalled George Ford to face New Zealand on Saturday. Against Australia last weekend, England’s kicking metres were over 800, New Zealand just over 700. England kicked from hand on 20 occasions, reclaiming the ball nine times; the All Blacks kicked from hand on 29 occasions and won the ball back a staggering 19 times.
Both sides thrive on territory because both have such good efficiency when they get into what we call the red zone – the opponents’ 22. They have the ability and the skill set to maximise how often they come away with points whenever the get into that red zone. Ford provides England with another kicking option and the way he has given his side territory whenever he has played has been fantastic.
Written by Ugo Monye
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2019/oct/25/england-need-control-ground-war-battle-new-zealand-rugby-world-cup-semi-final under the title “The big kick-off: England playmakers hold the key to beating New Zealand | Ugo Monye”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
