How to beat the All Blacks: The eight-point plan that could earn England a place in the World Cup final
Ex-World Cup-winning coach Sir Clive Woodward has offered England a comprehensive plan to dethrone the back-to-back reigning world champion All Blacks in their World Cup semi-final clash in Yokohama on Saturday.
Writing for the Daily Mail on the eve of the biggest match in English rugby in over a decade, the 63-year-old, who led England to their only World Cup title in Australia 16 years ago, outlined eight key points which could guide his former side to victory.
The first point that Woodward identified was for England to play an “intelligent” kicking game against a ruthless Kiwi counter-attack, which he said would punish any ill-placed nudges.
As part of his revamped kicking plan, the former British and Irish Lions coach said box-kicking should be eliminated entirely from England’s game plan for this weekend’s encounter, because doing so is “just too risky against New Zealand as it merely gifts them possession”.
“Kick very long so an All Black has to turn to collect the ball,” Woodward wrote.
Continue reading below…
“It is not easy, but this is what great teams can manipulate. Chase hard but in a controlled and organised fashion. They do have good back-three runners, but if they are under pressure running from deep in their own half even they will think twice about attacking.”
Secondly, Woodward stressed the importance of retaining possession against the All Blacks.
That means limiting New Zealand’s opportunities with ball in hand across the park, so England’s lineouts, scrums and re-starts must be inch-perfect and no-nonsense, he said.
“Possession is everything. And there is another aspect to this that all successful teams master. If New Zealand are pinned deep in their own 22 and they have a scrum do not give away a penalty, make them kick it out to regain possession.
“Keep that scrum legitimate, any scrum penalty just gives them an easy out. Ditto at lineouts.”
What it's like behind the scenes having three Barrett brothers in the All Blacks squad in Japan… https://t.co/DJ0rFm0PO2
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 24, 2019
Woodward went on to warn about the threat the All Blacks posed with turnover ball, stating that it is “like a jolt of electricity goes through them, they spark into action and start playing at extraordinary speed” when the Kiwis shift from defence to attack.
He said that if England are to defuse New Zealand’s swift transitional play, they must first “protect and cherish” the ball when taking it into contact, and follow that up with “two or three” supporting teammate acting as clean out players at the breakdown as quickly as possible to ensure possession is maintained.
Woodward suggested that much has been made of the inexperience of New Zealand’s two wingers – George Bridge and Sevu Reece, who have a combined total of just 14 test caps between them – which some believe could be a potential weakness for the All Blacks.
However, he guarded against complacency, as while English rugby followers may not know much about either player, the fact that both have been selected ahead of a vast array of other star wings is indicative of the potential and ability that both individuals wield.
“We might not know that much about Sevu Reece and George Bridge but Steve Hansen has the choice of dozens of high-class wings down there so these two will be the cream of a pretty vintage crop,” Woodward wrote.
Discipline will also be vital if England are to reach the World Cup final, and given the officials’ tendency to brandish yellow and red cards throughout this tournament, Woodward highlighted the need for 15 players to be out on the park at any given time.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B4AfQtoA4hx/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
“You have zero chance of beating New Zealand if you get a red card,” he said.
“Even 10 minutes down to 14 men with a yellow will result in at least one try, possibly two.
“No team can afford to give New Zealand a 14-point start, so this is very important, and England have worked incredibly hard on it.”
The All Blacks’ ability to strike quickly and frequently was another talking point Woodward raised in his column, and his resolution to counterbalance this was to keep the scoreboard ticking over as much as possible.
He said England should look to take every kickable penalty goal on offer, which could pay dividends after Owen Farrell slotted eight goals from eight attempts against Australia in their quarter-final last week, and shouldn’t shy away from attempting drop goals.
“Keep ruthlessly building the score. England raced into a 15-0 lead against New Zealand last November but took the foot off the pedal and ended up losing 16-15. They are a much better team now and I hope they have learned that lesson.”
Woodward added that England’s best players must remain on the field for the entirety of the match, writing that he wants his “strongest team on the pitch in the last minute as well as the first”.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B3_tessAC3e/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
He noted that he only used four of his seven possible substitutes in England’s extra-time win in the 2003 World Cup final, and, as such, recommended that in-match changes should only be made for injuries or tactical reasons in order to keep the best possible side on the field at all times.
Woodward’s final key to an English win at International Stadium Yokohama was belief.
He said he would not swap any one of Mako Vunipola, Jamie George, Maro Itoje, Billy Vunipola, Tom Curry, Anthony Watson or Farrell out of the side for another player.
With such talent throughout the starting XV, Woodward wrote that it was imperative for England to believe that they possess as many world-class players as their opponents.
“England have the core of a World Cup-winning team and every player in the team can look at their opposite number and know they truly match up to them.”
Kick-off for England’s blockbuster semi-final clash against the All Blacks is scheduled for 5pm local time.
In other news:
Comments on RugbyPass
What ifs are always dangerous. If you look at the game before Sam cane got sent of SA was dominating. You could make the argument the going down to 14 men rallied the troops and made them have to play to win which is always dangerous.
129 Go to commentsOmg… you are bruised And battered Benny. Stop crying … the scoreboard speaks. What a pathetic lover you are.. 🤣🤣🤣
129 Go to commentsPacific Lions, cry me a river
129 Go to commentsThis is the single worst piece of journalism I have ever seen since your last one. As a neutral, who really states that there should be an asterisk next to a win? You are an utter embarrassment to real AB fans, journalism and that joke of a house which pays you for this nonsense. Get a life, Ben.
129 Go to commentsGuys. Cancel the World Cup champions after this analysis. It changes everything. Ben knows. We’ll have to unengrave the Bokke off the trophy and hand it to the ABs, now that I’ve been enlightened about this illegitimate win. This needs to be done. Now!
129 Go to commentsBen is right here though, Springboks were woefully poor with the advantage they had throughout this game. The France match was heroic because that was an even contest this match had it taken place in Rugby Championship would have been an easy win for NZ. If anything this match should tell the Bok coaches that a lot of this team should be changed. They beat this same NZ team by record margin with the same circumstances but with a different core. They bring back the tried and tested guys and they nearly botch this game.
129 Go to commentsI knew who wrote this article from the first few words in the headline…lol. The red card actually did the ABs a favour. It galvanized them, only then did they step up a gear. Before that there was zero momentum.
129 Go to commentsFirstly the foul on Bongi was a planned move just like the NZ master plan with Bryce Lawrence you kiwis are filthy fux perhaps try to play a cleaner game next time I doubt that’s possible tho but don’t worry world rugby is on yr side they trying to take away all the BOKS strengths to help all you weakling as Jeremy Clarkson would say LA OO ZA ERR..🤣
129 Go to commentsAbsolutely spot on Ben. I certainly wouldn't gloat over a win like that. Frustrating as it is it's done and dusted and history will forever show the result.
129 Go to commentsHo hum.
129 Go to commentsNo question they were the better team. But that is the beauty of sport isn’t it!
129 Go to commentsEveryone is into Hurling in Ireland according to Porter, but only 11 of Ireland's 32 counties enter a team into the national competition. Same old blarney.
1 Go to commentsLet’s be honest. The draw and scheduling in the World Cup was a joke but South Africa found a way after having to go the hard (nearly impossible) way to the Cup Final via France and England. NZ had a hard game against France (lost) and had 5 weeks to prepare for the Quarter, 3 weeks knowing it was Ireland. NZ theerfore had to win one big game against an Irish team who played SA and then Scotland 7 days before. They won and it was de facto a semi final because they were playing a relatively weak Argentina team and it was a walk over. In the final a very rested NZ team was playing a very tired SA team and still lost. They couldn’t score more than 11 points. Put another way SA had to find a way to win while tired and they achieved that. NZ should thank their lucky stars that they fixed the scheduling in 2015 otherwise they would be dealing with a Bok treble.
129 Go to commentsPerhaps if Bongi wasn’t targeted and removed from the game in the first 3 minutes it would have been quite a different game. Maybe if NZ also faced the same competition the Boks faced to their win NZ would have looked quite different. The final score shows who outplayed who.
129 Go to commentsRubbish article! Abuladze played most of Exeters matches when fit. He got injured against Glasgow a while ago and is out for the rest of the season, thats why he hasnt played for Exeter and Georgia recently. Do some proper research next time!
1 Go to commentsGotta love it when kids throw their toys out the pram and can’t hack it with the grown ups debate. Here’s looking at you turlough! 😉🤣
148 Go to commentsThey lost the game period move on
129 Go to commentsSpringboks won! Stop winging. You can change the game however much you and your rugby colonizing IRB want to and the Springboks will win you at that too. Your mind is colonized my friend get a life
129 Go to commentsBen, nobody gets fooled anymore by selective and biased data to support an hypothesis. Games are decided on such small margins these days that you win some and lose some, and dominance is a thing of the rugby past. Look at the RWC circle of fortune…. Ireland beats SA who beat France who beat NZ who beat Ireland. And so it goes on. Match officials help to eliminate real indiscretions. If they had been with us years before, no doubt results would have been different. Remember Andy Haden’s dive from a lineout in 1978 for which a match-wining penalty was awarded? Wales should have beaten the ABs that day. They took the loss like the gentlemen they were.
129 Go to commentsWith all the analysis and how good the all blacks were.The fundamental mistake with the ABs is that this is a test match and not an exhibition.There is no better team(country) in world rugby than the Boks that knows how to win a test match(we are post masters at this).We know our rules, we have the discipline, we tackle like beasts, we take our points and we never give up.I now have educated the ABs supporters(at least say thank you).Please stop “bitching” , accept what the outcome is and move along swiftly.
129 Go to comments