The year-end internationals are upon us and start in London, so what better place to run the rule over the Springboks’ opponents in the next few weeks?
Now, every coach who has ever been involved in international rugby has always had the same feeling about England: that they are rugby’s biggest sleeping giant. Everyone knows that.
Look at the natural advantages they have. They have the richest union in the world. They have a hugely competitive Premiership, where they unearth a rich seam of talent consistently and have a vibrant school system that feeds into their pathway and a massive playing base to choose from.
Yet, since the advent of professionalism, they have got it right only sporadically. Sir Clive Woodward awoke the beast in the early 2000s, but since then it’s been slim pickings. Indeed, I still find it staggering that they have only won one Grand Slam in the last 20 years.
Once they get their act together, they will be very hard to beat but first England needs to decide how they want to play. You know, what is their identity? Back in the day, we knew that Dallaglio, Hill and Johnson would carry hard around the corner.
That Greenwood and Tindall would smash it up the middle. That out wide the likes of Josh Lewsey, Jason Robinson and Ben Cohen would run you ragged with space, and if Wilkinson couldn’t get the running game going, he would kill you with his boot, whether it was a drop-goal or that metronomic left-boot off the deck.
You knew what was coming, but boy it was a different matter stopping it.
One aspect the RFU have nailed is by backing Steve Borthwick.
They need continuity.
He is the youngest international coach on the circuit, so he has time on his hands. He has kept a nucleus of players they’ve rewarded with a central contract, and this has further strengthened his hand in controlling the players.
These are the sorts of things that can help harmony, identity and cohesiveness.
And don’t forget, they have genuine talent coming through. Guys like Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Tommy Freeman, George Furbank, Ollie Sleightholme can get bums off seats. I have no doubt they will get it right but what most England fans will be asking is, ‘when?’. Well, this weekend at Twickenham would be a decent time to start.
Obviously, in the opposing corner, the All Blacks wagons have rumbled into London this week, followed by a cacophony of mixed press.
There is pressure on them irrespective of what happens over the next month, I truly believe they could be the standard bearers for how the game evolves in the years to come.
I’ve read some critics asking,; ‘The New Zealand honeymoon is over, is this time to see whether Scott Robertson is good enough to be an All Blacks coach?
And I enjoyed the riposte from Wayne Smith saying: ‘We’re not going to mimic anyone, we’re going to play the game the way it needs to be played’.
In fairness, we saw glimpses of that against Japan. They will be brainstorming how to retain their crown as the world’s top side and that doesn’t start and end in South-West London on Saturday. It should be a barnstorming game.
I’ve seen a few quip that the pressure is on them more than South Africa, but I don’t get that logic. How can you have more pressure on the All Blacks than the Boks, who have won the World Cup and Rugby Championship in the last 12 months?
Speaking of the Boks, I’ve already spoken about the challenge that faces them with England and I don’t think it’s going to be easy this Autumn because they have a target on their backs and they have picked up a lot of injuries.
What has changed for the Boks is they’ve lost their mystique, simply because they’re playing against the Northern Hemisphere sides now. They are a known quantity.
I remember we’d only see the All Blacks every decade, so when we met the Sid Goings, Murray Mexteds and Andy Hadens it felt like a big deal.
There was an aura about them. If you are playing them every weekend, that je ne sais quoi naturally lessens.
If Glasgow can beat the Sharks with a side half-full of Boks, that will give their players confidence up at Murrayfield.
The confidence Glasgow has got from winning the URC will be similar to the fear factor Leinster impose.
The fact Franco Smith’s team got seven points on their travels in SA was a warning not to underestimate our Scottish friends.
The Boks finish their travails in Cardiff.
Now I have just come back from a few weeks there and I would say is there is a lot more optimism than there was 12 months ago.
They’ve fared well against the South African franchises this season.
The Dragons came within one defensive set of beating the Sharks, the Scarlets beat the Bulls and the Ospreys beat the Stormers.
While Cardiff hasn’t played a South African franchise, they beat Ulster in a massive comeback last weekend. Three of their regions won for the first time since 2021 so they have that precious commodity; confidence.
I know they’ve been through tough times of late, but I would never want to see Wales reducing their regions. Less is not more.
Their clubs of yesteryear, Llanelli, Neath, Pontypridd, Newport and Bridgend were good enough to challenge and even beat Test teams and though they’ve been through the mill, the regions seem happier, more aligned and confident now.
I caught up with Warren Gatland for a drink while I was over there and we chatted about the game.
He said they picked players on form and certain youngsters are growing up quickly in the squad.
They have guys like Jac Morgan, Dewi Lake, Taine Plumtree, Dafydd Jenkins who are going to raise the bar for the team in the years to come after a fallow period.
In time, they could take over from the golden generation of Welsh players we have seen slip away in the past few years. I think they will surprise a few people over the next few weeks.
Finally, I want to touch on the new laws coming in, specifically, how the kick chase is refereed and how teams will adapt.
I know it seems like a small thing but it’s about collisions in the air.
So, are teams going to risk kicking the ball and not competing in the air?
That means you’re ceding possession and effectively turning it over.
Also, how vigilant are referees going to be in policing the support runners and not blocking the chasers?
In other words, stopping the opposition from catching it.
I foresee the game shape, whether intentional or not, changing the game because teams won’t just routinely kick it to the wing or fullback like the old days.
They risk playing a guy in the air, which is a card, or getting their timing wrong which means it’s dangerous, or getting their running lines wrong and getting cut off or being penalised for obstruction.
I’m interested to see which team adapts quickest to these new laws.
We should have plenty to discuss over the coming weeks and I’d be very interested to hear your thoughts on the game’s talking points
Source: @RugbyPass
