Premiership sides thrive with ambitious rugby

After a number of dour performances in the opening two rounds of the Aviva Premiership, concerns were high for English rugby, particularly after an extremely humbling home Rugby World Cup campaign.

Don’t say it too loudly but it seems as if those concerns have quickly been replaced by a sense of optimism permeating through English rugby, not to mention more than a pinch of antipodean ambition in playing style.

Obviously the appointment of Eddie Jones as England’s new head coach creates a wave of optimism that things will be different under the new management and England are set for a period of unparalleled success, but regardless of how accurate or not that may be, it’s the English players and clubs who are actually the source of the most tangible optimism.

Those dour opening fixtures were long forgotten following some exciting displays in rounds three and four of the Premiership season, with Saracens, Bath, Wasps and Harlequins’ English contingents impressing in particular. The ambition to play advantages, rather than just drop back into the pocket and attempt a drop goal, was particularly enjoyable to see and something that most of the Premiership clubs took into Europe over the following two weeks.

Saracens’ victory in Belfast was a perfect example of the more expansive game that the English clubs have been trying to perfect. When Ulster infringed at the breakdown, Saracens played their advantage, put the ball through the hands, drawing men as they did and found an overlap for Chris Wyles to go over and score a try. This came just minutes after Paddy Jackson kicked a drop goal while his side had an advantage.

This ambition, combined with strong set-pieces all-round, led to Saracens and Wasps pulling off memorable victories in Ireland, while Northampton went north and did the same to Glasgow. Premiership victories on the road against strong PRO12 opposition, particularly the Irish provinces, have been few and far between in recent years. This change in approach has certainly caught the PRO12 teams off-guard, as well as some of the big spending French sides.

Weather conditions may force a more conservative approach over the months of December, January and February, but what is clear is that the English players have the skill levels and ambition to play a more expansive brand of rugby.

Playing advantages and turning those advantages into tries is commonplace in Super Rugby and while that competition may have its ills, this is one aspect that it is very encouraging to see Premiership sides adopting.

Super Rugby standout Charles Piutau has enjoyed a superb start to his short stint at Wasps, but most encouraging of all will be the performances of Elliot Daly, Christian Wade and Joe Simpson around him. The English trio have taken to playing with Piutau like ducks to water, running excellent support lines, showing skilful handling and not only are they being improved by playing alongside the Kiwi, Piutau also seems to be benefitting from their ability.

The aforementioned Saracens are also playing a great brand of rugby, spearheaded by the likes of Owen Farrell, Maro Itoje, George Kruis and Jamie George. Their ability to morph from resilient defence and a concrete set-piece to a skilful attacking side which can beat you in a number of ways is unmatched in the Premiership.

Furthermore, this attacking ambition and exhibitions of skill and heads-up rugby is not limited to Saracens and Wasps, with Bath, Exeter and Harlequins all also having their moments so far this season. Even Leicester, the masters of 10-man rugby and sticking the ball up the jumper, have been playing a far more positive brand of rugby in the early skirmishes of the 2015/16 season.

For those who regularly watch the Premiership, it has been clear that the competition has been becoming more expansive over the past few seasons, but it seems this season as if a switch has been flicked. Whether it’s the backlash of England’s embarrassing RWC, the desire to impress a new international coach or just the culmination of improved academies and junior coaching, English rugby players look like they’re out to show they’re as good as anyone in the world.

Jones has the luxury of picking from a large pool of players and based on performances in the Premiership and Champions Cup so far this season, English players from props to full-backs will be giving Jones all the right kind of selection headaches heading into the 2016 Six Nations.