Six Nations: Paul Gustard’s ‘wolf pack’ set to add bite to England defence

Eddie Jones' new assistant coach should help rebuild England's barricades

Chris Ashton has been recalled by England after adding some ‘meat and bones’ to his undoubted attacking flair (REX)

The new England boss Eddie Jones is not alone in wondering how the team can hope to prosper without their traditional virtues of set-piece authority and iron defence, so the new assistant coaches have a job to do. If Steve Borthwick faces some difficult detective work in cracking the mystery of a red-rose scrummaging decline at last year’s World Cup, his colleague Paul Gustard knows exactly what needs to be done in rebuilding the barricades.

If a “wolf pack” defence is good enough for Saracens – the reigning English champions and current Premiership leaders have conceded the grand total of eight tries in nine league outings this season, which makes them very nearly as parsimonious as Albert Steptoe – it ought to be good enough for the national side. Gustard certainly intends to use his work at club level as a Test template, and the presence of eight Sarries in the squad gives him a head start.

“What changes when you move from a club environment to an international one? I’ll soon find out,” Gustard said, looking ahead to the start of the pre-Six Nations training camp a week next Monday. “With England you have the players for a short period of time, so it’s about trying to get your message across – a few key principles, a framework.

“We have about five sessions prior to the first game in Scotland so it’s important to maximise every opportunity by using the time off the pitch as well as on it, whether it’s in the classroom or over a coffee or a beer. I want to build relationships with people. The way I coach is very strongly based on relationships.”

Will the new England approach mirror the current Saracens way? “More or less,” he replied. “There is always something that can trip you up, something to worry about in terms of the opposition, but I think the way I’ve coached over the last eight years has been successful.

“The benefit we have is that there are 33 players who are unbelievably hungry to be picked for Murrayfield and they’ll be striving to put their best foot forward in defence as well as attack. To win rugby games you not only need to score points. You also need to be very frugal at the back.”

One recalled player who owes Gustard a debt of honour is the Saracens wing Chris Ashton, whose try-scoring opportunism has not always been matched by his reliability in the less enjoyable parts of the union. While the coach acknowledged that Ashton’s attacking work is still the thing that sets him apart from the vast majority of his rival wide men, he suggested that his “meat and bones” contribution had improved sharply since his demotion from the England squad in 2014.

“His all-round game is pretty solid now,” Gustard said. “He still shows that willingness to run unselfish lines, as well as the selfish lines that mean he gets to score. Then there is his defending in terms of playing the back field, together with his tackling. Chris is a very astute defender who is working hard on his collisions. There’s still room for improvement there, but he offers a lot of merits.”

Meanwhile Ospreys, the leading Welsh region, will take a big step towards a first European Champions Cup quarter-final since 2010 if they beat Clermont Auvergne, last season’s runners-up, at the Liberty Stadium tonight.

The in-form Dan Biggar will steer the ship from outside-half, with two Test Lions in Alun Wyn Jones and Justin Tipuric offering some know-how up front. But most English eyes will be on the exciting young back-rower Sam Underhill, who starts at blind-side flanker.