The Brits verdict on England lining up Proudfoot, architect of their RWC scrum demise
Schalk Brits believes England will be the “perfect fit” for Matthew Proudfoot, who is set to join Eddie Jones’s coaching team and repair the scrum damage he helped inflict when South Africa won the World Cup final in Japan.
England’s scrum was put into reverse by the Springboks after Harlequins prop Kyle Sinckler was forced off in the opening minutes with a concussion and replacement Dan Cole found himself under intense pressure as South Africa powered their way to a 32-12 triumph in Yokohama.
Proudfoot – who won four caps for Scotland and played for Glasgow and Edinburgh – is now expected to be revealed shortly as the man to replace Neal Hatley as the England scrum coach after Jones’ assistant took up a role with Bath in the Gallagher Premiership.
Former Saracens hooker Brits, who was included in the Springbok World Cup squad to add vital experience, worked closely with Proudfoot whose contract with the champions came to an end after the final.
Rassie Erasmus has now stepped down as Springboks coach to focus on his role as director of rugby at SA Rugby with defence coach Jacques Nienaber expected to take over the main job and former Southern Kings coach Deon Davids set to replace Proudfoot as forwards coach.
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South Africa’s loss will be England’s gain, reckoned Brits. “Matthew will galvanise those England forwards to be the best they can be,” he told RugbyPass.
“He was a great attribute to the Springboks and will be for England if he gets the job. He will be a big loss to the Boks. The two teams who will really push England going forward are New Zealand and South Africa and Matthew will bring a lot of technical knowledge with him. It will put England in good stead.
“England are getting a coach who I worked with at the World Cup where we lost just one lineout and the set-piece wasn’t too bad, was it?
Rugby World magazine stirs the pot with a World XV for 2019 where South Africa don't have it all their own way
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“It will be a good fit for England and I believe Matthew’s heart is in the right place – he cares for the players. He invests in the guys he is coaching and is passionate and emotional about his players and protects them. Really caring about the person is a great attribute.
“If you look at the England pack, they don’t need a lot of technical advice although Matthew can provide that because he is a great scrum coach and also a lineout expert, especially on defence. He has grown a lot as a coach and a person.
“If you look at someone like Mako Vunipola then technically there is not a lot that you offer him or guys like Jamie George, Maro Itoje and George Kruis, but you get the guys together to believe in one goal and the pack goes forward and so does the team.”
Ohhhffff.
We've seen Hollywood marriages more stable than this…??https://t.co/sFiHynreMg
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) December 9, 2019
Brits, who is still intending to try and play in the 2020 Varsity Match once he starts studying at Cambridge University next September, believes Proudfoot’s experience of northern hemisphere rugby as a player in Scotland will give him a crucial understanding of rugby in this area of the world.
“It is a totally different game compared to the rugby in the southern hemisphere,” explained Brits. “In the northern hemisphere if your set-piece doesn’t function then your game doesn’t. Premiership and Heineken Cup rugby is the nearest you get to playing Test rugby from a set-piece perspective.”
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— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) December 9, 2019
Brits admitted that the Springbok dominance in the scrum during the final in Yokohama was significantly helped by the early injury suffered by tighthead Sinckler which saw him replaced by Cole after just two minutes.
“With Kyle being injured it meant that our six forwards and two backs split replacements worked perfectly for our squad. It meant that Dan had to play almost the entire game against two fresh loosehead props and that was extremely difficult.”
WATCH: RugbyPass Rugby Explorer takes a trek through South African rugby communities in Port Elizabeth and Cape Town
Comments on RugbyPass
A wallaby front-row of Bell, Blake and Tupou…now that would be hefty
1 Go to comments“But with an exceptional pass accuracy rating “ Which apart from Roigard is not a feature of any of the other 9s in NZ. Kind of basic for a Black 9 dont.you. think? Yet we keep seeing FC and TJ being rated ahead of him? Weird if it’s seen as vital to get our backline beating in your face defences.
1 Go to commentsThanks BeeMc! Looks like many teams need extra time to settle from the quadrennial northern migration. I think generally the quality of the Rugby has held up. Fiji has been fantastic and fun to watch
13 Go to commentsLets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
11 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
10 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
11 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
24 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
10 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
35 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
35 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
17 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to comments