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28th October 2019
05:13pm GMT
Trimble notes how the English players converge on teammates after a turnover, good tackle or scrum win and how they use that to motivate themselves during games.
The former Ulster and Ireland winger remarks that such exuberance was in marked contrast with the reaction at the final whistle:
"They're pretty relentless," he says. "They win the game, they beat New Zealand - one of the best performances I've ever seen - and they're just like, 'Right, onto next week.' Pure poker faced. But then there are moments in the game where you can see pure energy in the team. You can see loving playing for each other. It was so impressive."Flannery believes the fitness and defensive cohesion displayed by England were key in the 19-7 semi final win over New Zealand, on Saturday. "They're just so well conditioned," he began.
"And they would have been exhausted by the end of that game because, even though they were comprehensive, there were so many times when New Zealand could have ripped them apart, because they're New Zealand. "So, even though England were dominant, nearly everywhere, New Zealand still had twice as many clean breaks. They had nearly over 250 metres more on carries. You know, like, had way more offloads. There were so many times... That's why new Zealand are so hard to beat. "And it was such a complete performance by England that even though, when they were stretched, they still scrambled and you get massive turnovers from Tom Curry or a massive, massive hit from Sam Underhill just suddenly stems the tide of four positive win moments from New Zealand."In an 18-month spell, Jones moved on from many of his trusted lieutenants and went to the World Cup with a team in his mould. For Ireland, Joe Schmidt - albeit hampered by injuries to opensides Sean O'Brien and Dan Leavy - went with the familiar and it was one of the main factors in their downfall. You don't even have to go back 18 months. Go to the morning of February 2nd 2019, before Ireland played England in their Guinness Six Nations opener. Based on the two sides selected, this is a fair representation of what many fans would have selected in a combined XV (player in bold gets selected).
15. Robbie Henshaw/Elliott Daly 14. Keith Earls/Jack Nowell 13. Garry Ringrose/Henry Slade 12. Bundee Aki/Manu Tuilagi 11. Jacob Stockdale/Jonny May 10. Johnny Sexton/Owen Farrell 9. Conor Murray/Ben Youngs 1. Cian Healy/Mako Vunipola 2. Rory Best/Jamie George 3. Tadhg Furlong/Kyle Sinckler 4. Devin Toner/Maro Itoje 5. James Ryan/George Kruis 6. Peter O'Mahony/Mark Wilson 7. Josh van der Flier/Tom Curry 8. CJ Stander/Billy VunipolaA 10/5 split in favour of Ireland, the defending champions, with Henshaw perhaps fortunate to edge Daly out there as he has not had an abundance of Test rugby at 15. The new-look England walloped Ireland that day and the balance of power was shifted considerably. Two paths diverged with Ireland's ultimately leading to a quarter final exit. England's path? It has taken them to the World Cup final and it will be a shock if they fall to the Springboks at Yokohama International Stadium. Pick a combined team right now and Ireland are lucky to get three in the XV (Irish players in bold).
15. Elliott Daly 14. Anthony Watson 13. Manu Tuilagi 12. Owen Farrell 11. Jonny May 10. Johnny Sexton 9. Conor Murray 1. Mako Vunipola 2. Jamie George 3. Kyle Sinckler 4. Maro Itoje 5. James Ryan 6. Tom Curry 7. Sam Underhill 8. Billy VunipolaJohnny Sexton makes the cut as Farrell plays inside centre and Conor Murray squeaks past Ben Youngs. Even cutting Courtney Lawes for James Ryan feels like a big call. It has been a long and jarring nine months.
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