5 ways England can salvage the series in Cape Town
It’s not the situation any England player, coach or fan wanted to be in.
Heading into the third and final Test at Newlands in Cape Town with the series gone and nothing but pride to play for, yet this is the situation they find themselves in.
We’re quick to point the finger at England and yes, there have been significant shortcomings so far on the tour, but time must also be taken to praise the Springboks and Rassie Erasmus, who have been excellent, clinical and organised, amidst glare from the media that is every bit as intense as that that England must deal with.
Sounds coming out of the Springbok camp suggest Erasmus will make several changes for this final Test. Not so many as to throw away the chance for a 3-0 whitewash of England, but enough for him to get an idea of how four or five fresh players into the group go and how they cut it at international level under his guidance.
England need to do likewise.
There is no point making wholesale changes, creating disruption and a lack of cohesion in the squad that would only lead to an inevitable defeat, but this is a golden opportunity to run the rule over some of the players on the fringe of the squad this summer.
We have picked out five key changes that could help salvage this series for Eddie Jones. Not because they will change the result of the series, which is already in the record books as a loss, but because they can give him insight and options moving forward, that he did not have before.
Danny Cipriani
Move Owen Farrell to 10 or start Danny Cipriani
George Ford hasn’t been the reason England have lost the last two matches and many will claim that it’s unfair to bench him because of that, but Farrell is England’s best back and his best position is fly-half, whilst Cipriani demonstrated some nice touches off the bench at the weekend and deserves a chance to show what he can do from the start.
England’s lack of inside centre options has seen Farrell play at 12 for most of Jones’ tenure, yet he is widely regarded as the best fly-half in English rugby. He would solidify England’s 10 channel in defence, something that South Africa and Duane Vermeulen in particular, have targeted throughout the series.
Alternatively, a start for Cipriani would allow England to see how he dovetails with Farrell outside of him, should they continue to lack for faith in available alternatives at inside centre. He plays like this is his last chance to wear an England jersey and though that uncertainty might not seem like the greatest of working conditions, it seems to bring the best out of Cipriani, who clearly thrives under pressure.
Alex Lozowski to start at 13
Henry Slade had moments in the first two Tests, with ball in hand, where you felt as if he was born to the role. As a player capable of linking the pack and the half-backs with the back-three in the wider channels, he is as adept as anyone in English rugby.
Unfortunately, he struggled defensively with his positioning and work in conjunction with the back-three and he doesn’t have the same lateral quickness that Jonathan Joseph does, meaning there is no room for error in his decision-making.
One question we have had no answer to is could Lozowski provide that link between the narrow and wide, whilst also offering more security defensively?
This is an opportunity to get some insight into that, as well as seeing if he can translate the success of his hard lines back against the grain from Premiership rugby to international rugby.
Give Jonny Hill an opportunity
Jones knows exactly what he’s going to get from Maro Itoje and Joe Launchbury and you get the feeling Nick Isiekwe’s tour – as a starter – was over the moment Jones made the questionable decision to withdraw him in the first half of the first Test.
Hill was one of the form second-rows in the Premiership last season and whilst that is no guarantee that he will make it at Test level, it’s time to see if he can cut it or not.
Cape Town won’t be quite the baptism of fire to international rugby that Johannesburg or Bloemfontein are, so there are no reasons not to give him a chance to show what he can do this weekend.
At worst, a spot should be found for him on the bench, with England’s two locks in the 23 strategy not working over the first two games of the series and Launchbury flagging in the second half at altitude last weekend.
Jones during a England training session held at Pennyhill Park
Start Ben Spencer
England don’t have scrum-half depth. They have a starter in Ben Youngs and an impact sub in Danny Care.
When Care was given the summer off to rest, there was real hope from media and fans alike that England would test out their scrum-half options and find an alternative to Youngs, should the Leicester man face injury again next season.
Across the opening two Tests, Spencer has seen 11 minutes of action. Very little has been learned – on the field – about what Spencer can bring to the role of international scrum-half.
He is clearly favoured to Dan Robson, so give him the start in Cape Town and see how he controls a game. Based on his time in the Premiership and Champions Cup, it’s something you’d expect him to do well, but there will always be doubt until he proves he can replicate it at Test level.
Continue reading below…
Stay out of the breakdown
A few times this summer, England have been caught narrow defensively, had backs lined up opposite powerful ball-carrying forwards and been slow to fan out and deal with the threat of a fringe-runner like Faf de Klerk.
Given how England are built around a core of Saracens players, maybe it’s a time to take a leaf out of that Saracens defensive playbook and not commit significant numbers to the breakdown. It’s long been an area of inconsistency with England and maybe avoiding it as much as possible is the best strategy for the short-term.
Saracens love to keep defenders on their feet, fan out and put the pressure on with their line-speed. They are keener for attacking sides to make mistakes in possession under the pressure they bring, than trying to force turnovers with their numbers at the breakdown.
Of course, if the ball is there to be stolen, players shouldn’t be told to shy away from that, but as a general policy, keeping defenders on their feet and bringing pressure might be a way for the England defence to have more effect as they go through this tough phase.
Comments on RugbyPass
No surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
1 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
9 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
12 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
9 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
9 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
9 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to commentsSuch a shame Roigard and Aumua picked up long term injuries, probably the two form players in the comp. Also, pretty sure Clarke Dermody isn’t their coach. Got it half right though.
3 Go to commentsOh the Aussie media, they never learn. At least Andrew Kellaway is like “Woah, yeah it’s great, but settle down there guys” having endured years of the Aussie media, fans, and often their players getting ahead of themselves only to fall flat on their faces. Have the “We'll win the Bledisloe for sure this year!” headlines started yet? It’s simple to see what’s going on. The Aussie teams are settled, they didn't lose any of their major players overseas. The Crusaders and Chiefs lost key experienced All Blacks, and Razor in the Crusaders case, and clearly neither are anywhere near as strong as last year (The Canes and Blues would probably be 3rd & 4th if they were). The Highlanders are annually average, even more so post-Aaron Smith and a big squad clean out. The two teams at the top? The two nz sides with largely the same settled roster as last year, except Ardie Savea for the Canes. They’ve both got far better coaches now too. If the Aussies are going to win the title, this is the year the kiwi sides will be weakest, so they better take their chance.
3 Go to commentsThe World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
9 Go to commentsWhat’ll happen when the AI models of the future go back in time and try to destroy the AI models of the past standing in their way of certain victory?
41 Go to commentsThanks, Nick. We (Seanny Maloney, Brett and I) just discussed Charlie as a potential Wallaby No 8, and wondered if he has truly realised how big he is in contact (and whether he can add 5 kg w/o slowing down). Your scouting report confirms our suspicions he has the materiel. No one knows if he has the mentality (as Johann van Graan said this week about CJ, Duane and Alfie B) to carry 10-15 times a game.
57 Go to commentsHe would be a great player for the Stormers, Dobbo should approach the guy.
3 Go to commentsGood article. A few years back when he was playing for the Cheetahs, he was a quiet standout for exactly the seasons stated here. I occasionally get to see his games in the UK, and he has become a more complete player and in many ways like an Irish player. His work ethic is so suitable to the Leinster game. I wonder if Rassie would have him listed somewhere.
3 Go to commentsResults probably skewed by the fact that a few clubs have foreign fly halves in their 30s, but most teams have young English scrum halves. Results also likely to be skewed by the fact that many teams rely on centres and fullbacks to provide depth at 10, whereas they will need to stock a large number of specialist backup 9s.
2 Go to commentsI really get the sense that when all is said and done, the path of least resistance will end up being a merger of Wasps & Worcester that essentially kills the Worcester Warriors brand and sees Wasps permanently playing at Sixways. I’m not saying that’s what should happen or what I want to happen. I just think it’s the easiest rout to take and therefore, will be what happens. Wasps will definitely return to play first, and I suppose it all depends on if they can find support at Sixways. If people turn up and support Wasps in that community, at that ground, I bet they drop the Sevenoaks plan and just remain at Sixways. Under the radar but not totally unrelated, it looks as though London Irish are going to be brought back from the dead by a German consortium and look set to return, likely to the remade Championship. It’s set to have 12 clubs next season with 14 in 2025/26, what do you want to bet those extra 2 are Wasps and London Irish?
3 Go to commentsThe shoulder is a “joint” with multiple bones. You don’t “fracture” a shoulder, you fracture any one or more of the bones that make up a shoulder.
2 Go to commentsOh dear, bones too suspect to continue?
2 Go to commentsBold headline considering the Canes and Blues are 1 and 2 and the Brumbies were soundly beaten by the Chiefs and Blues. Biggest surprise is Rebels 4 Crusaders 12 - no one saw that coming. If Aus are improving that’s great 👍
3 Go to comments