England's autumn hinges on Australia result - Andy Goode
Whether England like it or not, the success or otherwise of their autumn campaign as a whole all hinges on the result against Australia.
Win and it has been a success, lose and it will be viewed as a failure with just a controversial victory over South Africa and a less than impressive win over Japan to show for their efforts.
In reality, they’ve done significantly better than a lot of people thought they would after six defeats in seven games prior to November and a defeat doesn’t mean the end of the world but, there’s no getting away from it, this result will dictate whether people are looking ahead to the Six Nations with a sense of positivity or looking back and putting a negative spin on things.
Eddie Jones has spoken about the English way of playing and being excited about the style of play that his side is going to show moving forwards but, if I’m honest, I can’t really define how England play at the moment in terms of a clear strategy.
Hopefully we’ll see some more evidence of it against the Wallabies, especially in attack, but I’d settle for a win of any kind over a coming out on the wrong side of an 80-point thriller.
All three of England’s autumn Tests have been a game of two halves. They were dominated in the first half against the Springboks and awful against Japan before half-time but turned both games around in the second half and the opposite was true against the All Blacks.
Last week against Japan they were rudderless until Owen Farrell came on and the scoreline flattered them in the end but they were trying things behind the scenes, as well as on the pitch, in preparation for the World Cup and that can all be forgotten if they end the autumn on a high.
It did expose George Ford, who struggled again to boss the game without another figure like an Owen Farrell or a Matt Toomua alongside him, and there were things to learn from the game but they’ll want to put it behind them and move on.
With the injuries England have and the performances so far this autumn, there weren’t too many selection dilemmas or discussion points this week but Jamie George starting at hooker jumps out from the team sheet.
He started all three Tests for the Lions in New Zealand but the only two Tests he’s started for England when Dylan Hartley’s been around before now have been against Samoa and Japan.
He deserves a run of starts after being the country’s form hooker for a long time and this feels like a watershed moment as he’s preferred to Hartley for the first time against a tier one nation.
He’s still named Hartley as a co-captain, despite the fact that he’s on the bench, but that’s a gimmick and it feels like a changing of the guard in terms of the captaincy as well.
It’s good to see Courtney Lawes picked in the second row and nobody picked out of position and the only concern for me is who’s covering full back if Elliot Daly goes down injured early on.
I know he’s not in the squad and there’s been enough written about that already but the lack of cover at 15 makes it even harder to understand why Danny Cipriani isn’t on the bench on Saturday because he can genuinely cover there as well as fly half.
The sickness in the Wallabies camp won’t have helped their preparation, and the withdrawal of David Pocock is a massive blow to them but as the English we should have learned over the years never to underestimate Australia.
The omission of Kurtley Beale from the match day 23 is a surprising one and picking Matt Toomua at 10 and Bernard Foley at 12 is an interesting decision but I don’t think that’ll affect them too much as the pair of them will interchange a lot.
It does tell us that Cheika is struggling to settle on who he goes for in the most important position in the team, though. He experimented with Beale at fly half for a few games in the Rugby Championship, which didn’t work, and he’s still scratching around.
Whether it’s Dan Carter, Jonny Wilkinson, Johnny Sexton and the list goes on, every really successful team I can remember has had a number 10 who is the absolute fulcrum of the side and that would be the main concern for Australia.
They know their season finishes after today and it will be a case of one final push before hitting the beach but the last game of the autumn is always tough for the Southern Hemisphere sides as their energy reserves have just about been emptied.
This is their 10th Test in the last three months so it’s been a long stretch for them. I’ve been in that position as a player when you’re at the end of your tether and almost can’t wait for the season to end but there’s nothing like a clash with England to encourage them to raise themselves one last time.
Sam Underhill had a huge game against the All Blacks and his battle with Michael Hooper, who has been one of the best opensides in the game for a number of years, will be one of the key battles as far as determining which team will come out on top.
England have won their last five games against Australia since the crushing disappointment at the 2015 World Cup and there is an expectation now that these games will end in victory.
Hopefully England can put in a good performance but we’re less than a year out from the World Cup and it’s about winning games now. It’s all about the result. If they beat Australia, it’s been a positive autumn. Winning is a habit and England need to get back in the habit.
Comments on RugbyPass
Spot 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.
5 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.
6 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
5 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.
5 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.
5 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.
6 Go to commentsA great game. The Sharks without Etsebeth are a shadow of the team compared to when he plays. The limitations of Some of the expensive Sharks players are being exposed. Credit to Clermont for some exhilaration play at times.
6 Go to comments100% Mr Owens. But who would want to be a referee.? It must be the most difficult job on earth.
1 Go to commentsStarts to be overdone and oversold this systematic SA narrative…which nevertheless has the merit in this case to recognise blatant refereeing mistakes in their favor
6 Go to commentsNice article. Shades of Steinbeck. They can win the final if they take the game seriously; but only if they take it seriously.
6 Go to commentsWhat a sad way to end a glittering career. Somebody should tell him to delete his social media accounts and face the consequences of what he's done. Then he should slip away quietly into obscurity. This isn't likely to happen, something tells me he'll be back in The Sun / Daily Mail sooner rather than later.
5 Go to commentsguys its fine! he understands why he did what he did and has taken accountability for it; why should he have to be accountable to a court? after all he did was abuse people in person - its not as if he was engaging in _online_ abuse!
5 Go to commentsChiefs flanker Kaylum Boshier yellow-carded for collapsing the scrum as it rolled towards the line. It was a maul….
1 Go to commentsyou know, i’m a leinster fan so I want Northampton to lose and it is gonna be tuff with Cortney lawes, Alex michell and the other guys🏉 lets go leinster🏉
1 Go to commentsWelcome to the Pro ranks. Those hard teams of old do hit the sole better though. its a dog fight at the top.
6 Go to commentsCan someone fill me in please, I've read a number of Ben Smith articles now and it seems he's got something again South Africa? Surely, this game was over and done with 7 months ago. Can't we have something a bit more interesting and relevant, or is this the calibre of journalist on this site?
238 Go to commentsNot sure what the Welsh are moaning about. They’ve had far more players off England, than England have had off Wales. Guys like Josh Hathaway and Kane James will play for Wales in the end. And they’ll be fsr better players for having played in the Gallagher Premiership, than they ever would have been had they stayed mired in the shambles that is Welsh rugby.
4 Go to commentsThis is all being blown totally out of proportion. First of all, since half the Irish team isn’t Irish - it’s very likely that none of the Irish players said that at all and, thus, we’re not being arrogant. Second, since half the Irish team is Kiwi - it’s very likely the Kiwi players were predicting a NZ SA World Cup final. Which they got spot on. Good on them!
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