World Cup preparations still at shadowboxing stage

The build-up to the men's Rugby World Cup is underway, all teams have played their first warm up game and squads are being whittled down from this week onwards.

The challenge for us at the moment is to watch these matches within the correct context and not as they may appear from the outside. To view each team through our own lens, with last season’s perception of where they are in terms of rankings and form, would be naïve. There’s a new season underway and different approaches are being taken, which means these teams are at different stages of their periodised preparation.

Without seeing behind the scenes or being aware of their approach, it’s hard to know how each aspect of the game is being prioritised in any of the camps.

We know that Wales under Warren Gatland have been talking up their superior physical qualities as a result of their physical fitness programming. Yet, their attack was blunt in the first half against England, until they bludgeoned their way into a rhythm and got the better of Borthwick’s struggling side in the second half. They’ve looked to get physically ready first, and polish the game plan afterwards.

Whereas England looked dangerous in the first half. Marcus Smith drew in defenders with the likes of Marchant singing off the same Harlequins-style hymn sheet.

If it was a deficit of physical fitness that got Wales over the line, then it’s not too late for England to catch up on that front, under the World-Cup winning guise of Aled Walters, I’m sure there’s a plan in place for them not to be caught by a fitter team when the real competition kicks off.

Each team is currently finding their own combinations too, which means we haven’t really seen what they will bring to their World Cup form or strategy