England legend Dean Richards on what constitutes ‘par’ in autumn as All Blacks and Springboks showdowns await
Dean Richards discusses England's upcoming Autumn Nations Series games.
Former England captain Dean Richards expects Steve Borthwick’s men to win at least two of their four Autumn Nations Series fixtures in November.
Borthwick’s team beat Japan in Tokyo during the summer tour and then lost narrowly in their two Tests against New Zealand in Dunedin and Auckland respectively.
That followed a third-placed finish in the Six Nations earlier this year and a bronze medal at the 2023 World Cup in France.
Twickenham showdowns
As England prepare to face the All Blacks, Australia, South Africa and Japan at Twickenham in November, legendary number eight Richards is hoping to see signs of further progress.
“If we get two wins out of the four games, then that would be hitting par,” he told Planet Rugby.
“Anything above that – winning three from four – would be better than par.
“At the moment, we’re not quite there with New Zealand and as they showed against South Africa the other week, the All Blacks are not quite there in terms of beating the Springboks.
“But on home soil, we might just nick it against New Zealand and then we’ve got South Africa who are obviously the world champions so that could be a different challenge altogether.
“They’re all tough games, though, at international level and none of these four Test matches will be easy.”
Richards believes Borthwick could hand opportunities to up and coming players during the series – and in areas where England are currently short of options.
“The front-row is one, but some of the U20s boys are coming through now,” added Richards.
“At fly-half, we’ve got Marcus Smith and Fin Smith and it depends when George Ford comes back from his injury, while Owen Farrell is now playing in France, of course.
“Perhaps England will think ‘we’ll use this as an opportunity to bring someone in and give them some experience’.
“It might be that against Australia or Japan they put them on the bench, I don’t know.
“But it’s certainly a great opportunity to give players an experience going into the Six Nations.
“England’s first game against Ireland over in Dublin is going to be a real humdinger, especially with them having drawn the summer series 1-1 against the Springboks in South Africa.”
Highly-rated Sale prop Asher Opoku-Fordjour, 20, was part of the England U20 side that won the 2024 World Rugby U20 Championship in South Africa.
Could he potentially feature in Borthwick’s autumn plans?
Richards said: “People have to appreciate that, certainly from a front-row point of view, it’s a massive step up from playing Premiership or U20s rugby to playing in a Test match against New Zealand or South Africa.
“But maybe against Japan or Australia – who are not renowned for their scrummaging as well – you could potentially have Opoku-Fordjour on the bench and expose him to what it’s all about, or someone of that nature.”