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'Play France, South Africa... I don't think they get away with that'
By Josh Raisey
Former Wales captain Dan Biggar believes England’s inability to convert pressure into points is the “one disappointment” from their victory over Australia.
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Though Steve Borthwick’s side left Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium 25-7 winners in their opening match of the Autumn Nations Series, the game was very much in the balance before England pulled away at the hour mark, aided by their impressive bench.
The hosts held a 10-7 lead before substitute Henry Pollock scored on 58 minutes to extend the lead to 15-7, before Alex Mitchell and Luke Cowan-Dickie added two further tries in the final 10 minutes.
However, England had dominated large swathes of the game, particularly in the first half, with very little reward. Speaking on The Rugby Pod this week, Biggar praised England for being “well-drilled” and structured “perfectly”, but raised this concern, saying the higher-ranked teams in the world would punish England for being so profligate.
There were two held-up tries in the first-half, with Harry Potter’s interception try coming just two-and-a-half minutes after he himself had held Ben Earl up, but England’s 10-7 lead going into the break was not reflective of the half that had just been played.
“The one disappointment I would say is that game should have been won by 35 points,” the Welshman said.
“I think you play France, South Africa, possibly New Zealand and I don’t think they get away with that from not converting. I know they had a couple held up over the line, and they were completely dominant, but that should have been a game where England won by 35 points.
“But you have to tap Steve Borthwick on the back and say that was a well-crafted performance from England and a well, well-deserved victory.
“We should be heaping praise on Steve Borthwick because, God help us, everybody gets on his back when it doesn’t go right. For me, what’s the job of a coach? The job of a coach is to design and implement a game plan that fits his selection, and I think he couldn’t have done it more perfectly in terms of giving the team a structure to go and score.”
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It's a jam-packed November! Watch these Autumn internationals on RugbyPass TV, or via your local broadcast partner!
