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How Jason Robinson sees England vs South Africa playing out
Former tournament winner Jason Robinson says he believes that England can cause an upset in their Rugby World Cup semi-final against South Africa later today in the Stade de France, but only if they throw caution to the wind.
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Robinson – who won 51 caps for England – says that Steve Borthwick’s side must come to play against the Springboks if they are to have any chance of bagging a famous underdog victory, even if he admits he thinks it’s unlikely.
“We are certainly going into this as underdogs. South Africa was my choice to win the tournament outright,” Robinson said. “If you look at their team and the physicality they have got, it’s huge. Probably more than any other team in the competition.
“I think what makes them even stronger is their backline which can cause so much damage. The half-backs have all the skills in the world alongside some tough centres and some outstanding wingers who can make something out of nothing so it will be a huge ask for England.
“But England will have a lot more confidence than they did when they first came into the tournament, being the only northern hemisphere team in the semi-finals is a big achievement.
Head-to-Head
Last 5 Meetings
Wins
2
Draws
0
Wins
3
Average Points scored
16
22
First try wins
60%
Home team wins
40%
“I think last week’s game against Fiji was a big one as they were under a lot of pressure as Fiji beat them 6 weeks ago, so that was a big win.
“These games, despite not being favourites, are one off games and anything can happen on the day.
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“England have some great players and those who played in the 2019 final will want to put that wrong, right.”
Outlining how he thinks England can give themselves the best chance of overcoming the challenge of South Africa he continued: “We must play the opposite way we did in the 2019 final. When you play against South Africa you know it’s going to be hugely physical, but you can’t get sucked into a physical game.
“In 2019 we did that; we had a massive win against New Zealand in the semis and we went into the final and we forgot how to play and played into their hands by just trying to take them on physically.”
Robinson warns about getting in an arm wrestle with the Boks, a game that England simply cannot win.
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“We cannot go and play conservative; we must throw caution to the wind and try stuff and take them on and chip over the top and put some moves on in the wider channels and try and create something. This is going to be England’s biggest game in a long, long time so I must go in with confidence and go for it. Leave it all out there.”
“I think the way South Africa are playing they will win. I’m not sure England will have enough to test them. But this is why we love sport, I also thought Ireland were going to win and Wales were going to beat Argentina and that wasn’t the case so anything can happen.
“We saw Fiji beating Australia, so it doesn’t always go to form and hopefully England have had a good week and are rested up.
“Every team, as strong as they are, always has a weakness. With a bit of luck England could do it and I’ll be rooting for them.”
“This week is more mental than physical.
“As you go further in the tournament the pressure gets bigger. A semi-final is bigger than a quarter final and a final is bigger than the semis so it’s about making sure mentally you are just steady.
“Confidence doesn’t just come in ability; it comes in how your mindset is and going into this game if I was a winger, I’d be looking at the opposite winger I’m playing against and I’d be thinking ‘I’m going to be getting the better of you today’.
“Everybody’s looking at how good South Africa is and what they are doing but for me it would be a case of having a mindset of ‘I need to nullify and be better than my opposite number’.
“There are a lot of outside distractions. The key is to just have this focus now and not to get distracted.”
World Cup winner Jason Robinson was speaking to branding and marketing specialists Champions (UK) Plc. For more details visit championsukplc.com</em>
Comments on RugbyPass
Utter grub, hope he gets his leg broken. Shocking he is still playing after intentionally breaking quinn tupaeas knee
2 Go to commentsGreat to see NZ 7s teams finally coming into form and playing at the level that is expected of them.
2 Go to commentsChief Cheapshot on the market again.
2 Go to commentsCrusaders went all in to buy Hotham and Kemara staight from Hamilton Boys. Then they picked up Reihana and Hohepa; all have been dropped for superstar Havili, who is a very good fullback, that’s it. Ennor and Goodhue were schoolboy stars too but went backwards at the Crusaders. Maybe they have finally decided to give another poach Levi Aumua the ball?
10 Go to commentsJoe S has some talent to pick from. The Reds loosies look the best in Super? Aus might just give Razor a headache this year. Int. experience v Cantab greenhorn:) Should be fun.
10 Go to commentsEnd to end play, “THE FANS” this game was entertainment of the best. The conditions added to the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsSorry to say, but sadly the sadas were just ordinary and havilli at 10 as an abs selection just won’t cut it. He’s better suited in the centre’s and is a victim of past charge down kicks, he’s too slow under pressure. There’s better talent further north and I don’t mean dmac however I believe razor will sort him out. A feature of his presents on the park is the fact that the guys will follow him.
10 Go to commentsMarler was brilliant throughout both in the scrum and open play. His slap made virtually no contact with Ramos who milked it for a penalty when he could have been a decent sportsman and laughed it off, it was non-violent and shouldn't have been penalised. Smith failed repeatedly to kick when necessary and put up a couple of bombs into the TLS 22 that just handed back possession at key moments to the other side.
3 Go to commentsCros was outstanding and rightly awarded France TVs player of the match award. Mallia was brilliant as usual (the y is below the 6 on a UK keyboard and he deserves better than that). Level also seems to have been scored harshly as he walked the ball into touch under pressure from a Lynagh kick from well outside his own half which should never have led to a 50-22. Agree with BullShark that Dupont, while class at times, seemed to go missing for patches in the second half with props, hookers and wings frequently filling in at 9 as he couldn't get off the deck and up to the next ruck on time. A 7 by his standards at best, his kicking was also too long, too often. Kinghorn's overall contribution was worth well more than a five.
3 Go to commentsThe Harlequins team must be in minus figures. Did the reporter actually watch the game?
3 Go to commentsHow on earth did Walker escape a red card? Not dangerous? Dupont has his face in a mask earlier this season. Shocking decision. What is the point of TMOs? We had the Fassi ‘non-penalty try’ yesterday and now this.
2 Go to commentsCould have been a different result but yet again French tv able to affect the result by not showing the very clear high shot on harlequin centre if this would have been on a French player would have been on screen at least five times
3 Go to commentsAmazing. The losing team’s ratings are higher than the winning team’s. Mallia definitely didn’t deserve a y. What game were you watching? Should have got a w or an x. ADP hardly featured in that second half. At one point I wondered when he’d been subbed. Seems to me as if he gets an automatic 9 just for getting onto the team sheet.
3 Go to commentsI’m sorry. That second half was far from enthralling. It was painful to watch.
2 Go to commentsVery generous! If you’d missed the game, reading this you’d conclude that it was the Quins front row that cost them the game. Marler getting a blanket 6 for his demented contribution to the game. Puzzling.
3 Go to commentsCan’t see Toulouse beating Leinster at this rate.
7 Go to commentsADP was having a very average game until winning that penalty for Toulouse, sticking his big head in the way. “The head of God”?
7 Go to commentsHarlequins doing their best to do as little damage as possible with all the possession. Looks like they skipped catch and pass drills this week.
7 Go to commentsSeeing pictures of Jacques high-fiving it with Irish players breaks my heart. Too soon. I need more time.
1 Go to commentsquins is all over the place. The minute they get the ball they panic. Quins can still win tho just need to win all rucks otherwise just don't bother.
7 Go to comments