At the risk of being labelled an arrogant Englishman, this group is primed to inspire a new generation - Andy Goode
At the risk of being labelled an arrogant Englishman, this group of England players look primed to inspire the next generation of rugby players in their country. We have all seen the drive on social media and elsewhere for people to go and watch the World Cup final at a local rugby club in England and victory would leave a lasting legacy.
The triumph of Jonny Wilkinson, Martin Johnson and co in 2003 did make a real difference, including influencing many of those taking part in this final, and a second World Cup win 16 years on would be huge for the country.
Eddie Jones told us all four years ago to judge him on the World Cup and there have been some bumps along the way, with poor form last year and some questionable comments in the media in particular, but it looks like he has got his planning spot on for this tournament.
South Africa are the sizeable hurdle that stand in the way of him and his goal and they will present a different test to the All Blacks. There is no disguising the way they play – it’s going to be a huge physical confrontation and England will have to match them up front.
England have bullied Ireland physically in the recent past and they have the power to combat what is coming but that gain line battle will be key in determining who comes out on top.
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Finals are normally cagey affairs and the kicking game is clearly going to be important. The Springboks kicked the ball 37 times in open play against Wales last Sunday and Handre Pollard was superb marshalling his troops.
Faf de Klerk loves a box kick, too, so we can expect a fair few aerial contests. Neither Elliot Daly nor Willie le Roux are what you would describe as commanding full-backs under the high ball so it will be interesting to see who comes out on top in their head-to-head.
George Ford has retained his place at fly-half and he was outstanding against New Zealand, as he has been throughout the tournament. There would have been a temptation to bring Henry Slade in, as they did for the quarter-final versus Australia, with Damian de Allende posing a similar physical threat to Samu Kerevi. But Ford’s kicking out of hand will be vital.
Tom Curry and Sam Underhill have rightly received rave reviews and their battle against Pieter-Steph du Toit and Siya Kolisi in the back row will be fascinating. I just hope referee Jerome Garces doesn’t have too big an effect on the game because there won’t be any communication at the breakdown, so who adapts best to him will have an advantage.
I can’t wait to see the battle between my old team-mate Tendai Mtawarira, aka ‘The Beast’, and Kyle Sinckler. The Quins prop has been brilliant thus far but he is in for a real test at scrum time.
There were some concerns about England’s lineout ahead of the semi-final, but Maro Itoje was the man of the match against New Zealand and that wasn’t an issue. But it will be another tough examination up against Eben Etzebeth, Lood de Jager and co in this one.
Siya Kolisi strikes a chord as he prepares to lead South Africa in their World Cup final versus England in Yokohama https://t.co/iwsx4nUdVH
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 1, 2019
South Africa’s mantra is ‘defence wins championships’ and they might be right – they have only conceded four tries in the whole tournament – but England’s attack can move them around enough to create the holes necessary to win the game.
They don’t play any rugby in their own half and will look to win the territory battle but if England can up the tempo, put width on the ball and run the sort of sharp decoy lines that they have been doing, there is a lot of space to be had out wide.
The Springboks are the ultimate pragmatists and the last thing England will want is for the game to be slowed down at every opportunity and for it to turn into a purely physical battle of muscle.
Are the bookies on the England hype train?? South Africa +6 in a World Cup final ? #RugbyWorldCup #RWC2019 pic.twitter.com/nQ7d1Vk0Uc
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 1, 2019
Cheslin Kolbe’s return is massive as he is the one real spark who can offer the Boks something truly different and special. He’s a jack in the box and if you kick loosely to him, you will be punished. When South Africa have beaten New Zealand in the recent past he has often been the x-factor.
He is up against Jonny May, who has the chicken voice in his head and has the capacity to do the unpredictable as well, so their match-up could be fun.
Kolbe has been nominated for World Rugby player of the year, which should tell you all you need to know, but the list is a bit of a strange one with Curry the only England nominee. That just shows how balanced England have been across the board, though.
George Kruis is ready to fight for England in their battle with South Africa's physical forwards https://t.co/XJ0W4CfUEN
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 1, 2019
England fans won’t want to read that this World Cup has been a huge success whether they win or lose in the final, but it has really been a success given the way they have played and the fact that almost all of the squad should be available in four years’ time.
Jones put his neck on the line when he asked to be judged on the World Cup and he has come good so far. One more step and the knighthood will be on its way!
If they achieve his ultimate goal and win the World Cup, the effect will be enormous. Kids across the country will be taking up rugby in even greater numbers and desperate to become the next Owen Farrell, Billy Vunipola, Manu Tuilagi and others.
The players won’t be thinking about that or the life-changing opportunities that will come along with it for them personally, nor should they. But the impact would be huge and far-reaching. The world is at their feet and they look primed to take their chance.
WATCH: Former World Cup winner Neil Back sits down with RugbyPass to recall England’s 2003 triumph in Australia
Comments on RugbyPass
It’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
2 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
24 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
1 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
1 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
2 Go to commentsLions might take him on if they move on Van Rooyen but I doubt he will want to go back, might consider it a step backwards for himself. Sharks would take him on but if Plumtree goes on to win the challenge cup they will keep him on. Also sharks showing some promising signs recently. Stormers and Bulls are stable and Springboks are already filled up. Quality coach though, interesting to see where he ends up
1 Go to commentsAnd the person responsible for creating a culture of accountability is?
3 Go to commentsMore useless words from Ben Smith -Please get another team to write about. SA really dont need your input, it suck anyway.
264 Go to commentsThis disgraceful episode must result in management and coach team sackings. A new manager with worse results than previous and the coaching staff need to coached. Awful massacre led by donkeys.
1 Go to commentsInteresting article with one glaring mistake. This sentence: “And between the top four nations right now, Ireland, France, South Africa, and New Zealand…” should read: And between the top four nations right now, South Africa, Ireland, New Zealand and France…”. Get it right wistful thinkers, its not that hard.
24 Go to commentsHow did Penny get the gig anyway?
3 Go to commentsNice write up Nick and I would have agreed a week ago. However as you would know Cale & co got absolutely monstered by the Blues back row of Sotutu, Ioane and Papaliti and not all of these 3 are guaranteed a start in the Black jumper. He may need to put some kgs before stepping up, Spring tour? After the week end Joe will be a bit more restless. Will need to pick a mobile tough pack for Wales and hope England does the right thing and bashes the ABs. I like your last paragraph but I would bring Swinton, Hannigan into the 6 role and Bobby V to 8
24 Go to commentsThe Crusaders can still get in to the Play Off’s. The imminent return of outstanding captain Scott Barrett and his All Black team mate Codie Taylor will be a big boost.There are others like Tamaiti Williams too. Two home games coming up. Fellow Crusader fans get there and support these guys. I will be.
2 Go to commentsCant get more Wellington than Proctor.
2 Go to commentsWhy not let the media decide. Like how they choose the head coach. Like most of us we entrust the rugby system to choose. A rugby team includes the coaches. It's collective.
14 Go to commentsHi NIck, I have been very impressed with him and he seems a smart player who can see opportunities which Bobby V _(who must be an international 6_) doesn’t see or have the speed to take advantage of. If he continues to improve and puts on 5kgs then he could be a great 8. He is a bit taller than Keiran Reid at 1.93m and 111 kgs, so his skill set fits his body size and who knows where it will lead. I hope the spate of Achilles tendon issues have been dealt with by the S&C people. It’s been a very long time since Mark Loane and Kefu stood out at 8. The question is will we be able to hold onto him, if he does make it he will be pretty hot property. I disagree with the idea of letting them go to the Northern Hemisphere and then bring them back.
24 Go to commentsBilly Fulton 🤣🤣🤣🤣 garrrmon not even close
14 Go to commentsDoes the AI take into account refs? hahaha Seriously why not have two on field refs to avoid bias?
24 Go to comments