TeaHis autumn series hasn’t produced much in the way of conclusive Twickenham evidence so far, but the haze is about to clear. Although no global awards are on offer, it looks to be an important weekend as England and South Africa meet for the first time 2019 world cup final, For the home side, in particular, it is the sport, for better or worse, that will define their calendar year.
Beat the world champions, who are currently making an unbeaten entry into the final leg of their European Tour, and will be solid proof of progress even in the absence of many familiar totems. Trail in a distant second and, after finishing fifth in the 2021 Six Nations, will write the end-of-term report itself. There is a very good England team out there somewhere and this would be an opportune moment to underscore that fact.
Also consider the Six Nations vision in 2022. With Scotland at Murrayfield in early February Owen Farrell is still potentially recovering From an ankle operation, followed by a pumped-up in Paris, a tough march against Ireland and France double bang? There’s little relief on offer in case England stumbled across Christmas not entirely sure of their best line-up or mannerisms.
We also didn’t mention the vibrant build-up from before the match, which coated this consistency with some unusually pungent peri-peri sauce: Rasi Erasmus ban Bad for their Lions video, concerned South African unhappiness, the Enduring Regret Eddie Jones Two years after the World Cup final and reckoning continues to feel ‘Fight Club’ soundbites Exit from home camp. Chuck it all in the pot and it’s a spicy old concoction.
It is certainly fortunate for England that, for once, they do not have to spend the eve of the game reacting to positive Covid results. That said, the stakes have been raised by the decision to put my trust in Jamie Blamire, Bevan Rode and Nick Dolly instead of the more experienced front-row options. If the youth bows down then things can get worse. However, collectively persevere, and Jones’ developmental change Would have paid a good dividend.
Because, after all, 2019’s Revenge or the Lions’ result means less to Jones right now than finding the right cornerstone for the World Cup in 2023. If – and if not bigger – this selection could star the Springbok ahead, it will be a coming-of-age victory for many. “We are looking forward to going into the fight against South Africa,” insisted England forward coach Richard Cockerill. “We will fire our own bullets and play how we want to play but there are always points in the game when you have to physically take on the opposition. If they think we have a weakness, it’s up to them, but we certainly don’t.”
An acid test is also behind the scandal, in the case of this ‘new’ England outlawing a top-class defense. Inside the home dressing room they didn’t need photographs of Marcus Smith receiving training-ground advice this week from English rugby’s resident Jedi master, Johnny Wilkinson, if they could secure enough possession and play at high enough speeds. So to get excited about the possibilities. “Marcus can go on to achieve great things and we all know that,” insisted fly-half partner Johnny May. “He’s going to be a great player for a long time.”
Then, sides that can’t physically compete up front can play Citizen Smith at 10 and that will make a big difference. That’s why when the two arrogant nations circle their wagons again, a gust of cordite blows into the air. “Physically, from a scrum, set-piece and lineout standpoint, there isn’t a tough team to play in the world at the moment,” Cockerill reiterated. “They don’t make any apologies for how they play. They almost lost the courage of ‘we’re going to do this’. Are you able to stop us?’ But it will not be a challenge that we will shy away from. We have a few guys in our front line for whom this will be their first experience of playing against quality but we are confident that they will stand up for the job.
The same defiant theme was echoed on the eve of the game by Joe Marler named on the bench, despite only emerging from Covid isolation on Thursday evening. Marler not only hasn’t been able to train with his teammates, but he has yet to regain his sense of taste and claims that this week, among other things, inside an empty chicken run in his garden The shuttle was seen running. By his wife and drinking South African red wine.
Prop’s appetite for the field, however, seemed berserk, as he sought to compare the current mentality of England to that of the Neanderthal early man. “It’s too much fight or flight… wait and fight or leg because you’re really scared. That’s how I feel with the Springbok Front Rovers and their scrambling and their passion for it. Want to test against the best in hot environments and I am really excited about it.”
It is entirely understandable if the Springboks feel a little less energetic in their 13th Test within five months, not to mention the SA ‘A’ game against the Lions that involved several frontline players. They still proved to be very good for Wales and Scotland and Lukhanyo M, Eben Atzebeth, Sia Kolissi and Damien d’Allende have been dropped from world rugby. Shortlist for Player of the Year Erasmus would have reappeared all concerned before the sideshow erupted once again.
Cockerill estimates that more than 80% of South Africa’s lineouts are driven at the end, with the idea being to sink the mind and body of the opposing sides onto the maul and get them moving quickly across the field. For both Lions, Maro Etoje and Tom Curry in the summer, the challenge is to stop that momentum without accepting the penalty of the Boks’ main diet.
Despite Freddie Steward and Joe Merchant’s offering of unusual expertise in that area, aerial dueling would be another important area in which no one would have foreseen any change in Springbok strategy. “I can’t see him walking away from his job,” May confirmed. “They’ll think ‘These guys are good in the air but we’re going to prove we’re better’. They’re going to come straight to us, that’s what I hope.”
game on. Between the pitfalls of watching rugby in Twickenham, in addition to the traffic queues on the sardine-cain trains and the A316, all they can do is thirsty patrons whose bladders fail to stop for 80 minutes. A word to the wise: Shuffle mid-game and you risk missing out on this autumn’s most eventful competition.