Revealed: Why England have ditched the blitz defence, how it caused their late collapses and why experts believe Steve Borthwick's new system can lead them to glory
- PLUS, which players in particular struggled with the hyper-aggressive tactic
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As Australia ran rings around them to claim an upset win at Twickenham last November, that is when it really hit home that there was serious trouble with England’s defence.
New Zealand had already stormed the ramparts to claim a third successive win over Steve Borthwick’s side on the opening weekend of the autumn internationals. Then along came South Africa and scored four tries in a 29-20 victory in south-west London, which left the hosts’ Autumn Nations Series campaign in a disarray.
A demolition of Japan the following weekend did little to paper over the cracks. England were in a hole and one of the biggest issues was their defensive decline. Having been hired in a hurry to replace Felix Jones as defence coach, Joe El-Abd was powerless to stem the tide, as the national team leaked 14 tries in four matches.
He and Borthwick appear to have reached the logical conclusion that something has to change. So, the common-sense outcome is that the blitz system is being abandoned ahead of the Six Nations. It had become clear that there was just too much risk and not enough reward from persisting with it, once Jones had decided that he didn’t want to be part of the England set-up any longer.
El-Abd was appointed by the RFU in late September, initially on a job-share basis, so he can continue as head coach of French club Oyonnax until the end of this season. In October, when asked about his short-term outlook in the role, the new recruit spoke about picking up the baton from his highly-respected predecessor.
‘We’re a team that loves getting off the line, and getting off the line is “blitz”,’ said El-Abd, whose Oyonnax side might be struggling in France's second tier but sport one of the better defensive records in the division. ‘It’s not the terminology we use, but we want to put the opposition under pressure. That’s not going to change.
England endured a difficult Autumn Nations campaign while using the blitz defence system
England found themselves in a hole and one of the biggest issues was their defensive decline
Joe El-Abd had replaced Felix Jones as defence coach in September after his shock departure
‘The DNA of England rugby is being tough and getting off the line. We’re going to take what’s been really good and we’re going to reinforce that. We will take what is working and see where we can improve it.’
Unfortunately, that proved to be an impossible task, in the available timeframe. Jones had resigned abruptly in August, amid claims he had become ‘unhappy with the unstable working environment’. Stunned by the loss of another important member of his staff, after fitness guru Aled Walters defected to Ireland, Borthwick and the RFU opted to leave Jones to pursue a remote analysis role and work out his 12-month notice period, before announcing his sudden exit in December.
The Irishman had established the hyper-aggressive blitz which was favoured by the Springboks during his successful stint with them, as part of World Cup triumphs in 2019 and 2023. England became increasingly assertive and effective on Jones’s watch; limiting the All Blacks to just four tries in two Tests in New Zealand last July, and nearly nicked victories in both.
His risk-and-reward philosophy chimed with that of former Boks head coach Jacques Nienaber, who moved to Leinster after the World Cup and spoke about how implementing the blitz is a gradual process which involves some pain along the way.
‘Switching to a defence with this sort of line speed is the polar opposite to what they knew,’ he said of a Leinster squad familiar with a more passive drift system. ‘Players will need to rewire their brains and put in the work before the main wrinkles are ironed out.
‘It will take 14 weeks. It took 14 weeks with Munster (when he worked with the province) and it took 14 games with the Boks when we took over in 2018. In 2018, we won 50 percent of our Test matches and the majority that we lost was because of our defence, but in 2019 we only lost one. So, it takes time.’
England had put in that time, but the coaching upheaval scuppered their defensive development. In November, under El-Abd, they appeared disjointed and uncertain – lacking the absolute, collective conviction which had been apparent in the latter stages under Jones.
Speaking after the dire campaign, former World Cup-winning England lock Ben Kay demanded a change of direction. He said: ‘Ditch the blitz. I’ve got no problem with them trying it, but I just don’t think it’s worked. Particularly now they haven’t got Felix Jones, they need to move on from that.
Jones resigned abruptly, amid claims he was ‘unhappy with the unstable working environment’
The hyper-aggressive blitz was key for South Africa in their 2019 and 2023 World Cup wins
‘We all know that they’ve got a new coach in and that’s not his bread and butter; coaching of that particular defensive system. So, even in terms of the authenticity for the players, Felix Jones was this advocate of this way of defending, you’ve now got a guy in who the players know is new to this way of defending, so selling it to the players is harder.’
There are not many teams who employ an out-and-out blitz. Exeter were one English club who favoured the system and their experienced centre, Henry Slade, was fast-tracked back into the national team after recovering from surgery, for the start of the autumn programme. He may have been short of match sharpness, but there was recognition of the fact that, in the outside centre position which is so influential defensively, he would be in tune with the blitz.
But tellingly, just after Slade had gone into camp with England in late October, his club sacked defence coach Omar Mouneimne, who had overseen their adoption of the blitz. Explaining the decision, following a series of league defeats, the Chiefs’ director of rugby Rob Baxter said: ‘I felt we needed to head in a new direction defensively.’
England have now followed Exeter’s lead. It comes as they grapple with the implications of being without the Devon club’s wing sensation, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, for the Six Nations, as he is expected to have surgery on his dislocated shoulder - as Mail Sport revealed this week.
The 22-year-old flier is another recent member of Borthwick’s side who was comfortable with the blitz, as it was in line with how he had been expected to defend week after week at domestic level.
It was noticeable that when Feyi-Waboso was forced off during the defeat against Australia, Ollie Sleightholme replaced him and appeared less assured in his defensive duties; being exposed by the dexterity of the Wallabies’ new cross-code sensation, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, who tipped, flipped and flicked passes around England's backline. That is linked to the fact that Sleightholme is used to a different defensive model with the title-winning Saints.
In the Premiership, Northampton operate the ‘connected’ system, which is more about good spacing and patiently holding the line, to absorb attacks. Gloucester have also defended that way, although there has been a shift of late. The likes of Sale, Leicester and Premiership leaders Bath are thought to prefer a line-speed system which is a notch below blitz aggression, but still intensely proactive.
Experts have told Mail Sport that an adjustment by England from a blitz to a line-speed system could be effective in a limited timeframe, as it would be more familiar to a greater number of players. In essence, it will involve a shift away from an out-to-in swarm towards the attacking ball-players – which can leave inviting space out wide if not perfectly executed – to a unified, rapid advance, but in a flatter, square-on formation, to maintain a wide presence.
Borthwick and El-Abd have decided to ditch the blitz ahead of a crucial Six Nations campaign
Experts believe a new line-speed system could prove to be effective for the tournament
There will still be an aggressive onus on being on top of the opposition before they can complete too many passes. And there will still be an intent to be high up ‘on the edge’, in order to appear in the eye-line of attackers who are looking to distribute towards the outside. But there won’t be the same out-to-in surge which can be either devastatingly effective or leave the defensive team exposed. Just think back to the swathes of open Twickenham grass that Wallaby wing Max Jorgensen was able to burst into down the left in the 84th minute last November, to snatch a late victory for Australia.
Another factor in the policy shift is fitness. England often fell away during the final quarter of their Tests last year - five times they led with 60 minutes or more played and still lost.
And Kay said after the autumn matches: ‘I think England have punched themselves out in the first three games. If you look at where their performance peaks have been, it’s been the first 20 minutes.’
Having failed in his initial bid to recruit Phil Morrow as a new performance director, on a job-share arrangement with Saracens – other clubs vetoed the plan based on conflict-of-interest fears – Borthwick addressed the fitness issue after England’s defeat against the Boks. ‘At the start of this series, you looked at the condition of the players and it wasn’t quite where it needed to be for Test match rugby,’ he said.
But the consensus verdict was that the blitz was excessively sapping English energy. So, the hope is that the change of defensive format will allow the national team to finish games more strongly.
A year ago in Girona, Spain, where England hold their warm-weather camps, there was a major focus on defence as Jones sought to lay the foundations for his blitz revolution. Now, it is set to be a priority area again, as El-Abd presides over a change of course. Yet, Richard Wigglesworth will also need a decent share of on-field time to work on a revamped attacking shape, amid the loss to injury of first-choice full-back George Furbank and wing Feyi-Waboso. If England do proceed with two Smiths in tandem – Fin at 10 and Marcus at full-back – they will need training time to groove that playmaker alliance.
So, England have plenty of work to do to prepare for when they have the ball and when they don’t. Borthwick will also recognise that it is no time to overlook the set-piece and aerial game – restarts and how his team receive and chase high kicks, while officials maintain a crackdown on ‘escort’ runners.
There is a lot to fit in and not much time. And after a dismal return of seven defeats from 12 games in 2024, the pressure is on, going into an in-at-the-deep-end championship campaign, starting with Ireland away and France at home. The change of plan has to work - and fast.
