Five changes deflated England need to make to beat the Boks
There were a lot of predictions flying around before the first Test in Johannesburg, but none that even came close to capturing the madness that was the game at Ellis Park.
England must have felt like they were close to putting South Africa away in the opening 20 minutes, cruising into a 21-point lead and looking as good as they have at any point under Eddie Jones’ stewardship, before a nightmare 40-minute period either side of the interval saw the Springboks roar back into life.
England did produce a late flourish in the final 20 minutes to put the game back into contention – an impressive achievement at altitude – but they ultimately succumbed to a 42-39 loss, in one of the more exhilarating Test matches of recent years.
There were positives for England to take from the result, but also several negatives, not least the fourth – or fifth, if you count the Barbarians game – loss on the spin for Jones and his team.
We take a look at five possible adjustments that England could make this week to help them turn the tables on the Boks in Bloemfontein and level the series going into the final Test in Cape Town.
Promote Brad Shields
It’s clear that Jones wanted to get Shields involved, thus the benching of Nick Isiekwe at the 35-minute mark, and with another week in camp under his belt, this seems as good an opportunity as any to give him his first start.
Chris Robshaw has a lot of credit in the bank with England, he has been unfairly made the poster boy for England’s failings in the past and brings a wealth of experience and leadership, but all that being said, his performances of late have dipped. It’s a long season and maybe now, at 32 years of age, he has hit his wall for the 2017/18 campaign.
No one is advocating Robshaw be cut adrift, but, having fought so hard to bring Shields in, it seems an apt time to give the Wasps-bound flanker an opportunity to stake a claim for the jersey moving forward. Mobility was highlighted by Jones as an issue and Shields brings an upgrade on Robshaw in that area.
Continue reading below…
Bring Alex Lozowski into the XV
There were plenty of promising signs in the game in Johannesburg, so you don’t want to push too many changes on a side that looked lethal at times, but Lozowski finished the season in scintillating form.
We were harder on Henry Slade in our post-match review than most others, especially given how good he looked linking the inside and wider attacks of England in the opening 20 minutes, but his two knock-ons cost England when they were within reach of South Africa and chasing the game late on.
Defensively, it wasn’t a bad performance, but there were moments when wing and full-back were left isolated out wide and a try seemed a foregone conclusion. In that drift-blitz-decision-making regard, filling the shoes of Jonathan Joseph is an immensely difficult task, whose lateral quickness surpasses any of England’s other 13 options, save for perhaps Elliot Daly.
Can Lozowski do a better job? It’s by no means a certainty.
He does, however, have form on his side, as well as a debateable advantage in running hard lines back against the grain, which were the two cases of Slade knocking on late in the second half.
Switch Elliot Daly and Mike Brown
We made the case for why Jones was retaining Brown on the wing whilst he looked to develop Daly at full-back prior to the first Test, but it was a dynamic which didn’t survive first contact with the enemy.
Admittedly, Brown took his try on the wing very well, showing the footwork, fend and power that wings need to finish in a limited amount of space, whilst Daly showed the distribution skills he can bring to the back line from full-back during England’s early dominance.
Things went south after that, though, with the pair caught out positionally on defence, Daly struggling to tune his kicking compass to the challenges of playing at altitude and a lack of defensive chemistry between the pair and Slade at 13.
Switching them positionally would bring more comfort for both parties, with Brown’s reliability at the back and Daly’s acceleration and agility on the wing both valuable security blankets.
Ellis Genge and Danny Cipriani to provide impact
There is still a toothless edge to England’s bench and the replacements Jones can make feel predictable – Isiekwe crooking aside – and offer little game-changing impact.
Joe Marler’s value to England as a starter during their extensive win streak to begin Jones’ tenure was high, but since he has been demoted to the bench with the rise of Mako Vunipola, his ability to change games as a ‘finisher’ is limited. He is strong at the set-piece and influential as a defender, making him the perfect type of player to see out a game, but England are not a good enough team at present to build a bench based upon seeing out games from winning positions.
Likewise, with Piers Francis on the bench, England’s go-to move is to push Owen Farrell inside to fly-half and bring on Francis for George Ford at inside centre. Francis is a fine player, but he doesn’t offer anything too different to what England already have with Ford and Farrell at the positions.
In Genge and Cipriani, England would have two attack-minded players that can provide real impetus from the bench, giving Jones the ability to proactively change his team to chase down opponents, rather than having his best attacking options already on the pitch and resorting to changes purely to provide fresh legs.
Counter Faf de Klerk with Ben Spencer and Ben Earl
There was something mesmerising about the smallest player on the pitch running roughshod over England and dominating them around the fringes in a way which they haven’t been for years.
Starting Spencer over Ben Youngs is a big call and one that has plenty of risks. After all, Youngs has only recently come back into the international set-up after injury and will undoubtedly be better this weekend than he was in Johannesburg. Spencer does, however, bring a little bit more acceleration to the mix and an adept scrambling defence, potentially making him a more effective option to keep de Klerk under wraps.
On the bench, Earl could be an intriguing option. Not only can he cover all three back-row positions, he also brings mobility, something which de Klerk preyed on England’s lack of. If, as we suggest here, Shields joins Tom Curry on the flanks and neither player, nor Youngs or Spencer at nine, can curtail de Klerk’s fringe forays, then Earl is an option from the bench.
You may also like: Wallabies look ahead to second Ireland Test
Comments on RugbyPass
Karl Dixon should never have been appointed this fixture, absolute disgrace, He’s not much of a referee anyway, didn't have the balls to send his mate care off
5 Go to commentsBrilliant article! Harry of 8/9
1 Go to comments‘UK athletes' have been in the NFL from the start.
1 Go to commentsIt’s going to be Scott Barrett. He’s the coaches mate and captain of a previously elite team. Ardie a great option but scooter has worked with the coach and Ardie still as big a leader as needed.
23 Go to commentsI commend Colin Scotts bio All Balls. He was the first Aussie to make it to NFL. But he was poached and did a full apprenticeship at the University of Hawaii. He was 130kgs surfed played 1st grade cricket etc. big guy by normal but not NFL standards and a top athlete. Even then the nfl were picking up Tongans and Samoans for their natural size and explosive power. They want explosive power not cardio from the big boys so a guy like Taniela Tupou would have been good if picked up young enough. He has fast twitch and they’d bulk the little lad up and give him something to do. soccer teams set up academies and look for Over Sara’s talent eg Messi was at Barcelona since a teenager and harry kewell went to Leeds as a teenager like 16 or something.
11 Go to commentsThe article alludes to the fact that this isn’t about picking a captain. But picking a great captain. So who would make for a great All Black captain - not just an obvious or safe shoo-in? I’m not sure Ardie’s the guy and Barret doesn’t stand out either.
23 Go to commentsI guess we may all agree on the fact, that the ABs and Boks are the two in contest for No 1 in rugby history (the triple-A sort of) …. the Wallabies, England and France are the next tier, with Ireland being the new kid in town (AA) …. in my view it makes little sense creating imaginary competitions (unless you have too much time to waste)
45 Go to commentsWhat a joke. Total joke and the pundits commentating, all of whom know a bit about the game, could barely disguise their contempt. Reaching for the card then pulling back when he realised a red card would carry further match suspensions is simply not his decision to make. A clear and obvious influence on the outcome of this match and indeed, the championship path.
5 Go to commentsI like the idea, in NZ the Ranfurly Shield and NPC coexist, both having their own bragging rights. The World Cup would be the pinnacle, but the competition and travels of these trophies would be interesting.
45 Go to commentsDon’t worry Sonny bill Williams leave that awkward situation about the curfew in the pass whoever it was it doesn’t matter its no big deal we back our All Blacks through the storm and the thunder until we see the Sun light again.
42 Go to commentsWho listens to this retard? He was a massive liability as a player but obviously a media sensation
42 Go to commentsI’m not surprised by such ‘virtue signalling’ by Sonny Boy. Butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth. He’s such a pious Islamic muppet, imo.
42 Go to commentsI’ve actually never heard of the guy (then I don’t watch League as it is boring). But if he is good enough.. then good luck to him. If not, well, he can always return to league.
2 Go to commentsIt is pretty clear that by almost any measure that NZ are a more successful rugby nation than South Africa. Quite aside from the distasteful events during the last RWC final. NZ lead SA in all significant measurements.
45 Go to commentsDickson went to his pocket for a card, saw who it was, changed his mind and spoke at length to TMO. One angle clearly shows Care diving over a Saints player to kill the ball. 1st yellow, reason given for not Red was player was falling backwards. He was only falling backwards after contact with Lawes. Graham try should have stood. Mitchell did not have both hands on the ball, ball went forward from a Saints boot dragging over it. 2 intentional knock-on's. One of which had an overlap on the outside. If Quins are happy to win by intentional foul play, then it does not say much for them. Would appear to be a bad day for Karl Dickson, also for the RFU in appointing a Ref who spent 8 years as a player at one of the clubs.
5 Go to commentsLet’s not forget about Ardie Savea just yet.
8 Go to commentsThe URC and the Euro Championscup can’t run at the same time, basically dilutes both competitions.
2 Go to comments“While Sotutu should start at No.8 for the All Blacks against England, but it’s only in that arena that he can prove just how good he really is.” And that my friends is where simply hasnt shone despite multiple opportunities. Even in this performance you can see what did him in in the test arena..he almost always still runs at the opposition almost ramrod upright making him easier to stop than it should be.
8 Go to commentsShould have been 0-0 and a message from SR CEO to both teams - “don’t worry about turning up next year”.
4 Go to commentsGreat work Owen Franks. A great of this team, scoring his first try for the Crusaders since 2010.He was beaming, justifiably. A fine win, he and the rest did the job up front.
1 Go to comments