England are looking to banish their autumn frustrations at South Africa’s expense this Saturday and have vowed “not to shut up shop” against the reigning world champions. Successive defeats by New Zealand and Australia have dropped Steve Borthwick’s side to seventh in the world rankings but the players insist they can confound expectations and turn their month around.
Rather than ditching the high-risk defensive system that has so far conceded eight tries in two games this month, England intend to double down and be even more aggressive with and without the ball in their first rematch against the Springboks since last year’s agonising World Cup semi-final defeat.
In Paris just over a year ago England adhered to a strictly limited kicking-based gameplan against the Boks which came close to paying spectacular dividends. This time, however, they intend to stick to their recently embraced blitz defensive system and take South Africa on in attack as well.
The Springboks’ powerful pack may just have other ideas but England believe now is not the moment to retreat into their shells or get into an unwinnable arm wrestle with the world’s No 1-ranked side.
“We are not going to shut up shop and go away from what we are trying to do,” pledged Henry Slade, a key defensive leader in England’s midfield. “We have a specific way we want to play each week, catered to each team, but we have our own DNA of how we want to play, how we want to attack and how we want to defend.”
There is also the logistical reality that England do not have sufficient time, in the middle of the Autumn Nations Series, to reinvent their defensive structure completely. The players have collectively acknowledged, though, that they will need to improve substantially on their uneven performance against the Wallabies.
“Our discipline wasn’t very good … it felt like Australia were playing with an advantage quite a lot,” said Slade. “That allows teams to chuck offloads and move balls they probably wouldn’t normally do. It keeps the ball alive, makes it hard for defences to set and you are always chasing your tail.”
A disjointed defensive line did not help either. “If one or two people are flying up and one isn’t, there is a real disconnect and at this level, teams exploit that. We are endeavouring to make sure everyone is together.”
England have also accepted they lost too many collisions against the Wallabies which gave their opponents crucial extra momentum. Over the years, though, they have had a habit of performing much better when their backs are against the wall and Slade is hoping for a similar scenario on Saturday, even without the injured Tom Curry and Manny Feyi-Waboso.
“So far we have had two frustrating results but if a couple of things had gone differently in either game you are looking at two fantastic results and everyone is saying we have had a really fantastic autumn. On the surface nought from two isn’t good with the double World Cup winners coming up next. It is not an ideal situation to be in.
“But we feel like we have made some good strides as a group over these last four weeks and are looking forward to a big challenge on Saturday. You can’t change the past, it is all about getting excited about what is to come. It is a massive task and we are excited to get stuck in.”
Mike McTighe, the chair of Telegraph Media Group, has been appointed chair of the new men’s Professional Rugby Board (PRB), made up of representatives from the Rugby Football Union, Premiership Rugby and the Rugby Players Association. He will be joined by two independent non-executive directors, Rachel Baillache and Ged Roddy.
