The moments that showed England’s defence can become their biggest asset

Down to 13 men, England backed up their bold words about defending with energy and aggression

England have been unconvincing over the first two rounds of the Six Nations, but are clearly beginning to convince themselves. And that is an important foundation.
After edging Wales in a tense affair at Twickenham, they travel to Murrayfield on a run of eight victories in nine Test matches since an infamous Fiji defeat; their sole loss coming by a single point to South Africa, the world champions.
An impressive record, which may have crept up on people, reflects perseverance in more ways than one. Yes, they are a resilient and dogged outfit. Just as significant is a palpable determination to stick with a new defensive system that should become a pillar of their game plan. It definitely inspired a pivotal moment against Wales this weekend.
In the 16th minute, having failed to convert territorial pressure and incisive counters into points, the hosts conceded a penalty try. Ethan Roots was sent to the sin-bin, where he joined Ollie Chessum.
England needed to take a restart with 13 men. Wales, who have scored some fabulous long-range tries at Twickenham in recent years, had the chance to pick off depleted opponents. Who would blink first? For England, it was the ultimate examination of Jamie George’s vow to “double down” on what Felix Jones is instilling as defence coach.
George Ford prepares to kick from halfway and Tommy Freeman is the man to watch. The Northampton wing has been assured on both sides of the ball over the first two rounds:
Freeman speeds up-field in pursuit of a clever kick. Ford aims for Aaron Wainwright, knowing that England can stifle one of Wales’ most dangerous carriers, and take him out of the game for at least one phase, with a good chase. Ben Earl joins Freeman to tackle Wainwright before he can gather impetus:
Alex Mitchell calls Freeman out to the near side, the pair covering that area in case Wales box-kick:
Wales are unlikely to box-kick, of course. They are eager to spread the ball. Way over on the far touchline, Josh Adams is calling for a cross-field kick as Tomos Williams feeds Keiron Assiratti:
Assiratti spins to feed Ioan Lloyd in a bid to open up the pitch and instigate width. This is the cue for Sam Underhill, Fraser Dingwall and Henry Slade to press up together and hunt the ball:
Dingwall reaches Nick Tompkins behind the gain-line and Slade gets to George North after an offload. In this clip, you can see how Elliot Daly is pushing up and in from the left wing as well:
Breakdown decision-making is vital to any defence system and England show restraint here. A week previously in Rome, piling into a ruck caused them to become hopelessly understaffed prior to Tommaso Allan’s try.
In this case, Underhill and George burrow in…
…before George backs away to fill the defensive line. Meanwhile, Maro Itoje arrives:
The lock appears to be relishing Jones’ philosophy. He spots Lloyd, who shapes back towards the near side, and sacks him before getting to his feet and shunting over the ball. George and Slade also drive in…
…and referee James Doleman awards a scrum put-in to England. Will Stuart, Underhill and Slade all celebrate:
Dingwall and Ford, who runs all the way across the pitch to do so, congratulate Freeman for the initial chase:
Complementing this momentum swing, England pack down with Underhill at lock and Freeman at blindside flanker…
…and Earl surges off the base to score a fine try amid the attention of four defenders:
Despite conceding another try through Alex Mann, the game represented another step forward for England’s defence. 
Watch Slade below as Wales move the ball towards the far touchline on the 21st phase of a long attack around the half-hour mark:
The centre arcs up and around with Dafydd Jenkins’ pull-back, funnelling Lloyd back towards the heavy traffic of a two-man tackle from Dingwall and George:
This next passage, towards the end of the third quarter, begins with a miscommunication after Rio Dyer circles around from the blindside wing to create an overload for Wales. Daly does not follow Slade as the latter jams in, allowing Cameron Winnett to glide through a hole. Ford’s scrambling is exceptional, though:
Freeman sweeps all the way across the back-field to stop Adams and Ford keeps working, eventually forcing a spill out of Rio Dyer and another vital turnover:
Under the tutelage of Jacques Nienaber and Felix Jones, manic tracking such as this was just as important as the pressure exerted initially in the front line.
Prior to Saturday’s game, Earl likened Jones’ defensive aggression to the ‘Bazball’ approach of the England Test cricket team. George spoke of the “courage” that it would take to keep at it.
Jones has made an undeniable impact already. Tidying up the attack and taking try-scoring chances will, by extension, help England’s defence because it could encourage other sides to over-play.
But Scotland’ sophisticated attack and Finn Russell, a master of beating blitz defences, will provide the toughest check of their conviction in two weeks’ time. Another absorbing Calcutta Cup encounter is in store.
Match images from ITV