Dallaglio: How England players responded at final whistle a 'good sign'
Lawrence Dallaglio has predicted a special future for England’s World Cup-chasing team ahead of their bid for global glory.
England will complete a clean sweep of victories over southern-hemisphere heavyweights Australia, New Zealand and South Africa on successive weekends if they beat the Springboks in Saturday’s final.
And 2003 England World Cup winner Dallaglio is enthused by what could lie ahead for Eddie Jones’ squad.
“This is a team that is still very much discovering how good they can potentially be,” said Dallaglio, speaking on behalf of Land Rover, Official Worldwide Partner of Rugby World Cup 2019.
“The exciting thing is there is a lot more to come from this England side.
“They have now set that benchmark with that performance (victory over New Zealand in the semi-final) right up there, and it’s going to be something quite special, I think.
“To win a World Cup, two of your games normally tend to be against southern-hemisphere teams, but were they to beat all three back to back… I am not sure I can recall that.
“It’s pretty impressive, but they have got one more to go, and that’s the key.”
Reflecting on England’s stunning victory over the All Blacks, Dallaglio added: “It’s one of the all-time great Rugby World Cup performances, full stop.
“I would almost go as far to say it was the most complete England performance we’ve seen for quite some time, if indeed ever – and I say that with a huge amount of pride.
Twelve years on from the 2007 final in Paris that England lost to South Africa, winger Mark Cueto still insists his disallowed try was a legitimate scorehttps://t.co/DTBv2NpgGl
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 29, 2019
“I think what was even more impressive is that normally when you see a team beat the All Blacks there tends to be a lot of hysteria on the final whistle because it’s a major achievement.
“But I think with this side what was really impressive is that at the final whistle, yes of course they were pleased – there were big smiles, big hugs and everything – but they seemed to be fairly grounded and under control and recognised that it was a semi-final and not a final.
“That is a good sign for this England team.
“If they go on and win it – and it’s going to be a very tough game – to have played the three southern-hemisphere teams on consecutive weekends, I don’t think anyone could deny that they would deserve to win the World Cup.”
Departing Wales boss Warren Gatland has cleared up what he meant when he spoke about England last Sunday https://t.co/PASD6D3Ep8
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 30, 2019
Dallaglio is wary of South Africa’s threat on Saturday as they bid for a third world crown following successes in 1995 and 2007.
“We can’t expect that they (England) are just going to go out there and do necessarily what they did to New Zealand,” he said.
“South Africa have proved they are a very difficult side to beat. They have only conceded four tries in the whole tournament, with two of them being against the All Blacks in their first game.
“They are a tough nut to crack, and they are pretty determined as well. Given what England did to New Zealand, they will be favourites in terms of the way they played, but it is going to be difficult.”
If England conquer the rugby world this weekend, similar scenes to 2003 can be expected such as a London victory parade and Downing Street reception.
“They will have achieved something very, very special that is very hard to do,” Dallaglio added.
“I remember from my own experiences, you celebrate it with the country – it’s an amazing achievement and everyone feels very proud.
“If you can start your season by winning the World Cup, then the possibilities are endless after that.”
– Land Rover is Official Worldwide Partner of Rugby World Cup 2019. With over 20 years of heritage supporting rugby at all levels, Land Rover is celebrating what makes rugby, rugby. #LandRoverRugby
Comments on RugbyPass
Harlequins doing their best to do as little damage as possible with all the possession. Looks like they skipped catch and pass drills this week.
5 Go to commentsSeeing pictures of Jacques high-fiving it with Irish players breaks my heart. Too soon. I need more time.
1 Go to commentsquins is all over the place. The minute they get the ball they panic. Quins can still win tho just need to win all rucks otherwise just don't bother.
5 Go to commentsGreat win for the male & female kiwi sides. Ireland not far away..
1 Go to commentsWhy is this dude getting so much coverage? Usually knobs like this get cancelled.
2 Go to commentsWow. What was that? A 3 million word meandering article about what exactly?
1 Go to commentsNice piece of writing. And yes the Sharks pulled a rabbit from the hat and were a little lucky with that penalty try that wasn’t given… however the Sharks (with their resources) should be way more consistent and should be putting teams like Claremont away for breakfast. I expect more from them and hope they kick on now.
8 Go to commentsJust what the Sharks needed to get things going in the right direction Defence on the outside really creates havoc for the whole team and needs to be addressed.
8 Go to commentsWell done guys both teams will be ready to play knockout rugby.
1 Go to commentsSurprised that Ramos isn't starting at 15. But what a squad of galacticos!
2 Go to commentsWhy is it a snub? What journalistic garbage is that? Sure the guy is a great player, but there are plenty of loose forwards and not all of them can be Springboks. Also, I know of no-one who doubts Rassie’s judgment. South Africa has a conveyor belt of loose forwards that just keeps producing, so the competition is intense. I certainly wish him well, but there is no entitlement and there is no snub.
17 Go to commentsSkelton may be brought back for the Wallabies so that would be the only reason that may hinder Wilson. Easily the form, most skilful and game IQ of any Oz 8. Valentini’s best and favourite position is 6, but lineouts may be an issue with Skelton, Valentini and Wilson. Will be interesting what Schmidt goes for but for me Wilson should be picked on form. Schmidt rewards work rate, skill and consistency. All that glitters every so often won’t be in contention. Greely is one of those players that has a knack of making the right decision. A coach is going to love him because he knows week in week out he’s going to get the job done. The second try Greely wasn’t the guy who made the initial break it was Flook, Greely was at the bottom of the ruck when Flook was off along the sideline. Greely got up and made the effort to catch up with play but also read the play nicely and hit the pass from Campbell at pace and then held the pass beautifully to Ryan.
6 Go to commentsSpot on Ben. Dead right. Havili looked great at 10. Easily the highest rugby IQ of any NZ player these days. Getting a kick charged down is a result of getting used to adjusting your depth to the line at 10, which he will sort out with time. But other than that it was an outstanding first effort in that position this year. I think the NZ media has misunderstood this directive from Razor. Havili might rank behind B Barrett this year, but Beuden is 33 this month and won't last much longer. DMaC is great but flaky and not really a test match animal (his efforts in Dunedin versus Aus last year for example). If Razor can't have Mounga, DMaC is too unstructured for Razor (and is just too small for test rugby). Havili will end up our first choice first five, and in partnership with Jodie will be excellent. Two triple threat operators in tandem, and big bodies and tough tacklers to boot. Jordoe will be the ABs goal kicker. I am an Aucklander and Blues (and Warriors) fan, but Havili at 10 is going to be sensational in time… he can be the best first five in the world by the end of this year. No question.
6 Go to commentsSharks deserved to be far further back by the last quarter. Their tackling was awful, their set pieces were disappointing, their defensive organization was poor (especially on the Kok side of the D line), they kept making unnecessary errors, and they never looked like cracking the Clermont defense during those first 60m. Masuku kept them in touch, with some help from the Clermont generosity on penalty opportunities. Agree with the writer of this article. It was belligerence, and ability to raise their pressure game just enough, that turned the last quarter into a Bok-style shutout. Clermont have a reputation of not playing the full 80m, and there was a bit of that for sure. But, quite often when the intensity of a team drops off in the last quarter credit is due to the opponent for tiring them out. At 60m, with the Kok try, you thought that just maybe the game was on. At 70m, with the Mapimpi contribution, one felt that Clermont were fading, while facing a team that would maintain the pressure game through the final whistle. Good win in the end, but the Sharks are still playing way below their potential. And with their resources, and a coach that has had enough time to figure things out, they are running out of excuses.
8 Go to commentsGood riddance
1 Go to commentswel the crusaders were beaten by a queensland reds side that hadnt beaten them at home since 1999 and queensland reds partied like it was 1999
6 Go to commentsHard to disagree with the 5 points - with the exception that Wilson should be a squad member but, depending on the other loose forward selections, is not yet a shoo-in. McReight is. Aussie is looking a lot better this year and JS has some selection options. Also, Havili’s tendency to get caught, charged down is also a liability at times but he seemed focused (mostly) and is definitely a consideration for utility back-up. Still feel Reihana is a better prospect at 1st five for Saders.
6 Go to commentsYeah nah, still not sure on Havili tbh. Even though I’m a Crusaders fan through and through I’d be stunned if Razor considers him after seeing some of the stunning talent coming through up North.
6 Go to commentsThink it was a great defensive performance by Northampton. They didn't have stage fright in the first half, the Nienaber defense smothered them. They limited Leinster to 15-3 in the first half. It could have been over by then. A great try from Leinster in the start of the second half looked to have sealed it. But Byrne missed another conversion. Northampton started trying little kicks behind the Leinster wingers. Leinster messed one and Smith brilliantly made the conversion. Leinster decided to tighten the game after Byrne missed a straight forward penalty. A few errors got NH into the 22 and they scored and converted with a few minutes left. Another brilliant steal from Lawes saw NH have a final attack which was turned over by Conan. A classic semi final. World record attendance of 82,300. Leinsters 3 week preparation warranted for this one.
1 Go to commentsJust came back from the game and the atmosphere was amazing. Players stayed afterwards for more than a hour to sign stuff and take photos with fans. Great day out.
8 Go to comments