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The training ground regime that's stamping out England penalties

By Online Editors
Manu Tuilagi

England have addressed their indiscipline issues by punishing players who make mistakes worthy of conceding a penalty during training.

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Veteran scrum-half Ben Youngs revealed that Eddie Jones introduced the measure during the build-up to the World Cup in the hope of eradicating the type of error that has long been an Achilles heel.

Any players who commit offences such as staying offside are punished by being made to do a series of gruelling exercises.

England face New Zealand in Saturday’s semi-final and Youngs, who will continue at scrum-half when the team is announced on Thursday, knows his team must be pinpoint in their accuracy if they are to topple the world champions.

“We put a big emphasis on our discipline throughout pre-season and at the weekend it’s going to be absolutely vital for that,” Youngs said.

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“If boys did things in training they were sent to the corner of the pitch to get a bit of a flogging and stuff.

“The punishment would be a few down-ups, a few runs – it’s normally the big boys who spent the time there and they would go with the (strength and conditioning) coach.

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“It’s something that we haven’t always been terrific at, but certainly in this tournament we’ve been very, very good.

“We’ve been pleased at how we’ve been able to make sure we’ve stayed disciplined.

“I didn’t get a flogging, I was too disciplined so I never went there. It was just for things like offsides and everything like that.”

The most recent time the rivals clashed was at Twickenham last autumn when a controversial offside decision against Courtney Lawes meant Sam Underhill’s late try that would have clinched a famous victory was disallowed.

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“Everything gets checked now, just to make sure for confirmation, so you’ve got to be absolutely on it,” Youngs said.

“Sam’s try is a very good example where you are just a little bit off and you don’t get the rewards.

“It’s no different to how we’ve approached every game this tournament. You’ve got to make sure you are accurate and you are disciplined.”

England forwards coach Steve Borthwick revealed that England expect to have all 31 players available for selection on Thursday.

Wings Jack Nowell and Jonny May have made good progress in their recovery from hamstring injuries and are on course to be included in the matchday 23.

Jones’ ‘Kamikaze Kids’ Tom Curry and Underhill will continue in the back row after outclassing the famed ‘Pooper’ combination of David Pocock and Michael Hooper in the quarter-final victory over Australia.

England <a href=
Australia RWC” width=”1920″ height=”1080″ /> Eddie Jones and Steve Borthwick confer ahead of England’s game with Australia in Oita. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images,)

Curry, at 21 England’s youngest player at the World Cup, was named man of the match following a colossal display of defensive ferocity and breakdown expertise and Youngs believes the Sale flanker is destined for the very top.

“Tom’s an unbelievably special player. He works incredibly hard. Nothing seems to faze him. He’s in this bubble and he’s just loving every moment of it,” Youngs said.

“Things like that are infectious. And Underhill, although he looks a lot older isn’t too old himself.

“Both those guys and the energy they bring – I’m just pleased and proud of them. As characters they’re good boys. They get a little bit of heat, but they’re top boys.

“Being an older member of the squad you see these young guys come in and you want them to be successful.

“Tom’s been incredible like that and I’m sure he’ll continue to grow and grow as a player. I’m sure he’ll go on to be one of the greatest back-rowers England have ever had.”

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Adrian 49 minutes ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

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Trevor 3 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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Bull Shark 7 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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