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Gritty England win highlights key work-ons ahead of All Blacks challenge

By Alex Shaw
Zach Mercer of England breaks during the Quilter International match between England and South Africa at Twickenham Stadium. (Photo by Henry Browne/Getty Images)

Gritty. Resilient. Tenacious. Opportunistic. Lucky.

There is a whole gamut of adjectives that describe tight, one-score contests that could be equally well attributed to England’s victory over South Africa on Saturday.

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It was far from the most scintillating or easy on the eye of performances England have turned in over the last few years, but it was a win.

With England suffering through a number of injuries to key players and South Africa arguably less depleted, the absences of Faf de Klerk and Wille le Roux aside, not to mention the home side coming off the back of a 2-1 series defeat to the Springboks back in the summer, it was a game where result was always going to mean more than performance.

It’s also easy to forget given the success England have had prior to 2018 under Eddie Jones that South Africa are a team that England have consistently struggled against, even at Twickenham. When England beat South Africa in 2016, it ended a spell just four days shy of 10 years without a win over the southern hemisphere side.

It should also be acknowledged that England certainly rode their luck in the game.

From the three overthrown lineouts from Malcolm Marx in English territory to the fortunate call on Owen Farrell’s last-minute tackle on Andre Esterhuizen, there were a number of opportunities in the game whereby South Africa could have taken the contest out of England’s reach or snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.

England deserve credit for the resiliency of their defence at times, too, but it was as much Springbok profligacy as it was English steel that won the game for Jones and his charges.

Now, they prepare for the All Blacks, the undisputed number one side in the world and a side that England haven’t beaten since 2012.

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If England go into that game with the same slow start and indiscipline that they showed against South Africa, the scoreline is all but certain to be far less flattering come the 80th minute.

Thankfully for Jones, there were some key lessons learned by England in victory on Saturday that can help them with the challenge that is about to come.

Continue reading below…

Watch: Eddie Jones discusses Owen Farrell’s tackle post-match and gives his take on England’s performance.

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Pre-match concerns that Engand lacked carrying power among their forwards proved to be well-founded. Maro Itoje and Kyle Sinckler both grew into the game and had strong second halves, whilst Tom Curry and Mark Wilson did graft out some hard-earned metres as one-out runners, but it was generally an area that the home side struggled for success in.

The arrival of Zach Mercer from the bench definitely brought an energy to England, as he sought space between Springbok defenders, rather than running at jerseys. His eagerness to free his arms and look for offloads was also noticeable, even if no such situations presented themselves to him in such a tight game.

England won’t want to lose that positive impact from the bench, but they can’t afford to get themselves into a hole against New Zealand and his ability to get England moving forward makes him a prime candidate to move into the starting XV.

That move should not, however, come at the expense of Wilson, who enjoyed a coming out party at international level on Saturday.

The Newcastle Falcon was arguably England’s most impressive player and though he didn’t offer the carrying presence that either Billy Vunipola or Nathan Hughes regularly provide, his work rate was exceptional. Whether he was chasing kicks or dropping back into the 22 to field them, running support lines for carriers or making sure he was the first to the contact area, Wilson distinguished himself time after time at Twickenham.

It was a true measure of his ability at Test level and a far cry from the cameo performances he has had from the bench thus far in his international career. If Mercer is to come in at number eight, a spot should be found for Wilson on the flank, potentially at seven should the injury that sent Curry hobbling from the field prove to be significant.

Another player whose performance off the bench warrants a shot at the starting XV against the All Blacks is Ben Moon.

Ben Moon of England looks to pass the ball during the Quilter International match between England and South Africa at Twickenham Stadium. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

The loosehead stabilised the England scrum against the Springboks and it is a common misconception that the scrum is an area of weakness for New Zealand, as their set-piece is amongst the very best in the world.

If England want parity in that area, they need to look at starting Moon. There is a good reason why Exeter start Moon at club level and then bring on Alec Hepburn to torment tired teams.

Not only did Moon’s spot on the bench limit his effectiveness against South Africa, it also prevented Hepburn from being at his most effective. Switching the two would, based on Saturday’s performance and form at club level, be a win-win solution.

One somewhat of a problem position which arose at Twickenham was full-back.

It was not the commanding display from Elliot Daly that everyone wanted to see. On a number of South African kicks, Daly was coming on to the ball and should have commanded the space underneath and taken the dominant position to collect the ball. Instead, the chasing South Africans were able to get up early and in front of Daly, winning the contested ball, or at least batting it back into the arms of Springbok support.

The left-footed kicking option, as well as his range of 50m-plus from the tee both came in handy for England and are valuable weapons, so this is not a call to drop Daly. The full-back spot is a position which should be fiercely contested over the next week and even if Mike Brown does enough to win back the jersey, Daly should warrant a spot on the wing, such are the skills he brings.

Maybe the confidence of the win and another week of training will shake those wrinkles out of Daly’s game at 15, but given that he rarely plays the position for his club, it’s not surprising that it’s an area where the rust has settled in. With Beauden Barrett the arch-manipulator of space with his kicking game from hand, it’s an area where England are going to have be sharper next weekend.

Finally, a general work-on for England could well revolve around their tackling, which across the board was questionable against South Africa.

At times, it seemed as if England were trying to get into an arm wrestle with the Boks, in a show of physical bravado. The tackles were one-on-one and high, albeit legal, and English defenders were regularly being bounced off by the powerhouse South African carriers. The reluctance to go low, or frequently work in unison with another tackler, one going low and one going high, was an oddity in the performance.

If they continue to go high against New Zealand, perhaps in fear of the All Blacks’ potent offloading game, they are going to face the same struggles they did Saturday, with New Zealand’s carriers more than capable of breaking high, one-on-one tackles. Chemistry and cohesion are always hard to come by in the first game of an international window, so there is a good chance England will look improved in this area after another week of working with new defence coach John Mitchell, but it would be remiss of the hosts if it were not a facet of their game put under increased scrutiny this week in training.

Are the inclusions of Mercer and Moon, the retention of Wilson, an improved performance under contested balls and a smarter approach to tackling enough for England to trouble the All Blacks? It’s no small feat to ask, but they would bring positive change and help solidify the areas England struggled with against South Africa.

One thing working in England’s favour is that they certainly had a tougher preparation for the fixture than New Zealand, who sent out a largely developmental side against Japan on Saturday morning, so optimists can look at that gritty, resilient and lucky victory over the Boks and expect a battle-hardened England to take to the Twickenham field next week.

Watch: Steve Hansen speaks following New Zealand’s win over Japan.

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

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 10 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

39 Go to comments
A
Adrian 12 hours 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

39 Go to comments
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