Cultural reason behind divisive England trait explained by ex-Bok coach

It was in the build-up to the World Cup last year that England’s whooping and hollering started to draw a lot of negative attention.

It was not that Steve Borthwick’s side had just started doing it – the Saracens contingent in particular had been doing it for years – it was just that the over-exuberant celebrations for knock-ons and minor infringements seemed in stark contrast to the abject displays that the side were producing.

But as England marched on through the World Cup on their way to an agonising semi-final loss to eventual winners South Africa, the criticism of their behaviour – spearheaded by Ben Earl and Maro Itoje – dissipated as it clearly had a galvanising effect and the players in question produced match-winning displays that overshadowed their negatively-received attitude.

Nick Mallett explains why he once turned down an offer to coach England | RPTV

Former Springbok coach Nick Mallett on turning down the England coaching job, before Eddie Jones got it. Watch the full episode on RugbyPass TV

Watch now

Nick Mallett explains why he once turned down an offer to coach England | RPTV

Former Springbok coach Nick Mallett on turning down the England coaching job, before Eddie Jones got it. Watch the full episode on RugbyPass TV

Watch now

But this behaviour has been called into question again by former South Africa captain Jean de Villiers, who wonders if it highlights the difference between England’s mentality and that of the All Blacks or Springboks following England’s narrow 22-24 loss to New Zealand at Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium.

Speaking on RugbyPass TV’s Boks Office, de Villiers, who was hosting in place of Hanyani Shimange, highlighted two tackles in the match, one by England’s Chandler Cunningham-South and one by the All Blacks’ Patrick Tuipulotu, and their subsequent celebrations, as a difference between the two sides.

Listen to that roar! 🔊

What a tackle from Chandler Cunningham-South! 💪#AutumnNationsSeries | #ENGvNZL pic.twitter.com/jogL1d9Yif

— Rugby on TNT Sports (@rugbyontnt) November 2, 2024

“The big thing for me, we saw Chandler Cunningham-South make one big hit on Tupou Vaa’i, I think it was the first half, and he kind of celebrated as if they’d won the game,” the former centre said, referring to what some Springboks have labelled ‘plastic energy’.

“Whereas Patrick Tuipulotu, massive hit on Furbank in the second half and he just got back up and got in the line. Is that almost the difference between the two?

“Because we saw in the Haka both teams coming closer, but when you do that, you need to back it up with performances, whatever you do. It’s the first time I saw the All Blacks responding in a different way where they actually went forward. But during the game itself, you need to forget about that stuff and you need to stay in the moment and don’t worry about the outside stuff. Was that the difference in the end?”

It is worth noting that the key difference between the two tackles is that Cunningham-South enforced a knock-on while Tuipulotu’s did not, thus there was a break in play after the Englishman’s tackle which gave him an opportunity to celebrate.

But former South Africa coach Nick Mallett, who was a guest on the podcast, believes there is a cultural reason why England “need” to be so vociferous on the pitch, and it is what separates them from New Zealand and South Africa.

“With the All Blacks, it matters,” Mallett said. “It really, really matters. For England, they want it to matter. You can see the guys are pushing themselves to try and get to the level of intensity that is required to beat that team.

“We have it because it is innate in South African culture, as it is in New Zealand. For them, they need to high-five whenever they do something physical.”