'I don't think we did our due diligence in terms of looking at them closely enough... it was very amateur'
Dean Richards has admitted England had no idea what to expect when they ran into New Zealand’s force of nature winger Jonah Lomu in the 1995 World Cup semi-final.
It is more than 24 years since the then 20-year-old flyer wrecked English hopes in South Africa with a devastating display as the All Blacks surged into the final with a 45-29 victory in Cape Town.
On Saturday, the two sides will meet again at the same stage of the competition in Yokohama, a fixture which will rekindle painful memories for one of the men who wore the red rose that day. Richards played at No8 for England and witnessed the destruction at close hand.
“We didn’t know too much about the New Zealanders and they had got a young lad called Jonah Lomu, who had started a little bit in the previous games, but nobody had really known about him or knew his capabilities or anything.
“He was unbelievable on the day and I don’t think we did our due diligence in terms of looking at them closely enough and also what he had to offer. It wasn’t like today where you have the games readily accessible. You didn’t have analysts.
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“Anything you watched was something that you looked at yourself or sourced yourself, so it was very amateur in the way that we approached it. Yes, we may have discussed Jonah Lomu, but that was probably as much as we did do.”
At 6ft 4ins and 18st 10lbs, Lomu, who sadly died at the age of 40 in 2015 after his body rejected a kidney transplant, was not a conventional winger, but England were soon to discover he was brutally effective. Within two minutes, he had handed off winger Tony Underwood, blasted his way past centre Will Carling and literally run over full-back Mike Catt to touch down on his way to a four-try haul.
Courtney Lawes has his say on Brodie Retallick's infamous 2014 gaffe ahead of the England versus All Blacks World Cup showdown https://t.co/Yv721ljUFH
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 25, 2019
Asked about Lomu’s display, Richards said: “He didn’t really affect me because I didn’t get anywhere near him. I felt sorry for Tony Underwood, Mike Catt and those boys who could get near him. Had it been today, the impact wouldn’t have been as great because we’d have been prepared a little bit more for him. But that’s not taking anything away from Jonah because I thought he changed the way the game was played.”
New Zealand had effectively wrapped up the game long before the half-time whistle sounded with No8 Zinzan Brooke landing an outrageous long-range drop goal into the bargain. Richards said: “After 20 minutes, the game was lost, wasn’t it? It was all about getting some sort of credibility back. We scored four tries in the end, but the game was lost well before then.
“And to rub salt into the wound, Zinzan dropped a goal from the halfway line which, as a No8 , he’s taking the p***, isn’t he? Fair dos, I’ve always wanted to drop a goal from the halfway line, but to do it in a World Cup semi-final as well…”
Richards, now director of rugby at Newcastle Falcons, will be an armchair viewer this time around and is willing England to do what his generation was unable to in 1995. Asked what Eddie Jones’ team will have to do to win, he said: “Be accurate in everything they do.
“As soon as you drop off an attack or as soon as you throw a loose pass, they’ll capitalise on all your errors, they really will, and you have to stand up physically as well. You can’t take a backward step. England have to play and be at their best. I think they’ve picked a team that can beat the All Blacks and if they perform, then they can win.”
– Press Association
WATCH: Jim Hamilton previews the England versus New Zealand World Cup semi-final in the latest episode of Don’t Mess With Jim
Comments on RugbyPass
Aha. An Irishman with logic! Follow the flow: - Ireland peaks with a >80% win record between 2020 and 2023. And then… - crashes out of another QF at the WC; - Beat a poor French Team; - Beat 6N wooden spoonists Italy; - Play shite against eventual wooden spoonists Wales; - Lose against the most boring, “the worst English team ever” , a team widely regarded as unable to attack; - scrape through against Scotland. This article, No - Trimble, is on the money! Except for one glaring statement: _The Springboks have a few aces in the hole in this debate being the reigning world champions and official world number ones_ There is no debate, boys and girls. There it is. In black and white. “Reigning World Champions and OFFICIAL world number ones”. Come July, the overrated Andy Farrell and this overhyped team are going to enter into a world of hurt.
85 Go to commentsI’d like to know what homoerotic events Daniel enjoyed at 8th man. I clearly missed out!
19 Go to commentsThis article is missing some detail, like some actual context or info about what led to him abusing the ref.
2 Go to comments*They used to say that football is a gentleman sport watched by hooligans and rugby is a hooligan sport watched by gentlemen. How times have changed.*
3 Go to commentsexcept ot wasnt late wasnt late at all so dont know why you all saying its late he commits early and its your fault fir not paying attention
29 Go to commentsNot sure the Bulls need another average utility back in their ranks. Chamberlain has been ok for the Sharks but is by no means an X-Factor player. Bulls bought several utility backs which they barely use. A typical example would be Henry Immelman who plays mostly Fullback. The Bulls however have rarely played him this year and he has played wing or centre. Bulls want to build depth but seems like they have too many surplus players
1 Go to commentsABs lost against a side playing without a hooker - The guy playing, had one shoulder. Line outs were a gimme for the ABs, and the last 8 minutes 14 played 14 against a team that had been smashed 3 weeks in a row… Yet with all that possession, with all that territory, with all the advantages they actually had, especially in the last 8 minutes, they couldn’t buy a point. Those last 8 minutes determined if they outplayed the Boks or not. History will show that the Boks completely outplayed the ABs, especially in those last 8 minutes, the business end of any rugby match
226 Go to commentsWould’ve, could’ve, should’ve, didn’t.
226 Go to commentsKok will become a fan favourite
1 Go to commentsI am really looking forward to Leigh Halfpenny playing his first Super rugby game for the Crusaders Playing a long side his former Welsh and Scarlets team mate Johnny McNicoll.Johnny has been playing great, back in a Crusaders jersey.The attack has strengthened big time. Also looking forward to David Havili at 10. David is a class act, it also allows Dallas McLeod to remain at 12. A good thing.
1 Go to commentsIf he had stopped insisting on playing in the backrow, instead of wing, where everyone told him he should, he would have been a Bok years ago….
11 Go to comments‘Salads don’t win scrums’ 😂 I love that.
19 Go to commentsCan’t wait for the article that talks about misogyny in Ireland. Somehow.
19 Go to commentsI would like to see a rule change, when the attacking team is held up over the try line, by allowing the defensive team to restart a goal line drop out releases the pressure for the defensive team, but what if the attacking team had to restart a tap 5m out from the defensive team it gives the attacking team to apply more pressure, there are endless options for the attacking side and it will keep the fans in suspence.
2 Go to commentsLess modern South African males predictably triggered.
19 Go to commentsMy heart is with Quins, but the head is convinced Toulouse have too much. Ntamack is back, his timing and wisdom has been missed.
1 Go to commentsWow, what a starting line up for the Sharks) Tasty up front,kremer vs Tshituka or venter …fiery ,,Lavannini ,,will he knobble etzebeth? Biggest game for belleau?
1 Go to commentsIt was rubbish to watch, Blues weren’t even present. Did what they had to do, nothing more. Should be better next week against canes.
1 Go to commentsI’ve just noticed that this match has an all-French refereeing team. Surely a game like this ought to have a neutral ref? Although looking at the BBC preview of the Saints game, Raynal is also down as reffing that - so there may be some confusion about who is reffing what.
1 Go to commentsIf Havili can play anywhere in the back line, why not first 5. #10.
11 Go to comments