Rassie Erasmus’ punishment to fire Boks past England

Colin Newboult
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South Africa are a difficult team to beat anyway but, when they are holding a grudge, it becomes even harder, and that is what England will face at Twickenham on Saturday.

Following the decision to ban director of rugby Rassie Erasmus for his hour-long rant against Nic Berry, the Springboks have found the added motivation to, in their eyes at least, put the world to rights.

When you add in the fact that this is the respective teams’ first meeting since the 2019 World Cup final – a match where the Boks completely dismantled Eddie Jones’ men – it is likely to be a fraught encounter.

South Africa shouldn’t really need that extra incentive in any case as they are an outstanding side that will probably dispatch this England outfit.

They have the best forward pack in the world, with a set-piece which can dismantle most opponents, and a defence that is incredibly difficult to break down.

The Springboks certainly go into Saturday’s clash as favourites, with the Red Rose starting two rookies at loosehead and hooker, against coincidently the strongest part of the visitors’ game. Although Joe Marler offers support from the bench, he only has one day out of isolation before he faces the Springboks at Twickenham.

It therefore makes it a tough ask for the hosts, who have also decided to take this campaign to freshen up their squad and slightly alter the way they are playing. That will surely take time to bed in so, if they do begin to make errors, the Springboks will inevitably get on top with their set-piece.

The key for England is to try and take the scrum out of the match as much as they possibly can but that is easier said than done. Although the rest of their pack is strong, South Africa will be licking their lips at the prospect of potentially repeating their effort from the World Cup final.

Jones is a smart man but even he, like many other coaches before him, may struggle to devise a plan which can get his side on the front foot against the Boks this weekend.

Last time they met

It was, of course, in the World Cup final when South Africa completely dominated favourites England and secured their third title. It was a staggering display of physicality, control and set-piece expertise as they overwhelmed the Red Rose during those 80 minutes. Interestingly, it was level at 6-6 just before the break – Owen Farrell and Handre Pollard trading two penalties apiece – but the pressure eventually resulted in a 20-point margin of victory for the Boks. Makazole Mapimpi touched down for the first try after 66 minutes before Cheslin Kolbe sealed the win with a stunning individual effort.

What they said

England coach Matt Proudfoot has backed his young front-rowers to stand up to the power of the South African set-piece.

“Like for every front-row forward, it’s about what is inside the man. That’s what we look for firstly,” Proudfoot said. “That’s what we identified in Jamie (Blamire) – as having a strong character and having a lot of personal fight.

“When he came into camp early, in the summer, we chucked him in what we term the Fight Club and the way he ripped in was really promising.

“Talking about Fight Club would be breaking the first rule… front-rows don’t talk about Fight Club! It’s just a unique name to call the front-row club.

“For me Saturday is about what’s in that jersey. I’ve got a lot of confidence in any of the front-rows we’re going to pick to put that white jersey on. South Africa have proved over the last two years that they are the best side in the world and they deserve that title. You can either face it or back away from it.

“Our mindset is to go straight at it, to confront it, go head on and not back away from it. I’m confident that those young guys will play with every bit of passion and enthusiasm that they have.”

Springbok head coach Jacques Nienaber doesn’t believe that the World Cup final will have any bearing on this match.

“I won’t know what Eddie is telling his players. From our perspective the World Cup has been so long ago,” he said.

“It’s water under the bridge, you can’t stay and live in that moment. You need to move on and we definitely did, even from the British and Irish Lions. It’s new focus, new objectives and we are working towards France 2023.

“We built up good momentum in the Tests against Wales and Scotland, and it is important for us to transfer that into our final match of the tour against England.

“England have made it clear that they’ll come hard at us in this match, and with a few British and Irish Lions players in their midst, home ground advantage and a new record of eight wins in a row against Australia adding to their motivation this weekend, we know it will be a hard grind.”

Players to watch

A lot rests on England’s younger players this weekend, both up front and behind the set-piece. Of course, the focus has been on the scrum and quite rightly so. Given Bevan Rodd’s performances in the Premiership, and where his strengths and weaknesses lie, we can’t see him holding the two South African tighthead powerhouses. Rodd is technically sound in the set-piece and is often solid for Sale Sharks in that area, but he just doesn’t have the raw power just yet. He showed against Australia that he will offer plenty in the loose but this is a much bigger challenge.

The scrum doesn’t need to become a factor for England but, if they aren’t to be drawn into a dogfight, they have to be clean in other areas, such as lineout, breakdown and handling, something they failed to do in the World Cup final. The reason the Boks dominated in Yokohama was because every part of the Red Rose’s game was subpar and wilted under the pressure their opponents exerted. Game-management is therefore key for the hosts, which is why the onus is on Marcus Smith more than it would usually be – particularly without the experience of Owen Farrell beside him.

The aerial game is also vital. Unlike in Japan, Jones’ men look more solid in this area. Freddie Steward is the best player under the high ball we’ve seen since Israel Folau, while a fully fit Jonny May will help as well – he was carrying an injury going into that showpiece event. Joe Marchant takes the last place in the back three ahead of Max Malins, who is on the bench, and Adam Radwan, and is also noted for his aerial skills.

If the Springboks are to put England under duress with their kicking game then Cobus Reinach is the man who is going to do it. He comes in for Herschel Jantjies, who has struggled over the past two weeks, and his main job will be to allow the South African chasers to get into the match and take them down the field. Reinach has made a significant impact in both the matches against Scotland and Wales, and it will be interesting to see what he does from the start. The scrum-half will equally be a threat around the fringes and is also one of the best support runners in the world.

He should, at the very least, get a decent platform from the set-piece. They will want a bit more from their carrying game, especially in the opposition 22 – it has been a bit too easy to defend – but, when it comes to winning this match, it might not ultimately matter when they’ve got six world-class front-rowers. Ox Nche, Bongi Mbonambi and Trevor Nyakane are all exceptional but, when they are done, opponents then have to deal with Steven Kitshoff, Malcolm Marx and Vincent Koch.

It is a brutal one-two punch with the Bok coaches finding a very successful formula. The latter three are probably the better players overall and they are certainly not a trio teams want to face when they are behind in the second half. Kitshoff and Marx, in particular, are incredible at the contact area and, if you try to do too much with ball in hand and leave an individual isolated, that duo will be ready to pounce and turn it over.

Main head-to-head

It is perhaps not a duel which will decide the game but we are very much looking forward to seeing Maro Itoje and Eben Etzebeth lock horns once again following the recent British and Irish Lions tour. If anything, Itoje had the edge in the contest, despite South Africa’s win, and was deservedly named as the Lions’ player of the series. Both players are crucial cogs in their respective sides and, to a degree, set the tone for how the match will go.

The England man was surprisingly nominated for the World Rugby Player of the Year, given his inconsistent form in the Six Nations, but he has impressed since then and was hugely effective against Australia last weekend. With an inexperienced player at hooker, a lot will be riding on him, as well as the likes of Jonny Hill and Courtney Lawes, to take the pressure off Jamie Blamire. That is where Etzebeth will look to assert his influence and, like he did in the World Cup final, disrupt the Red Rose ball at the set-piece.

The South African second-row perhaps should have been nominated for player of the year ahead of Itoje as, unlike the Englishman, he has had a consistently good year, and will look to show why this weekend. Etzebeth will seek to improve his carrying but he is still mightily effective in other areas, especially in defence and at the breakdown. The 30-year-old’s sheer physicality means he is a tough man to shift at the contact area and can make life very difficult for Ben Youngs at the base of the ruck.

Prediction

It’s certainly been an interesting week for South Africa but they are a team that tends to perform well under those sort of circumstances. Allied that with their set-piece strength against the hosts’ Covid and injury-stricken scrum then the Springboks should come out on top with a bit to spare. South Africa by 10.

Previous results

2019: South Africa won 32-12 in Yokohama
2018: England won 12-11 in London
2018: England won 25-10 in Cape Town
2018: South Africa won 23-12 in Bloemfontein
2018: South Africa won 42-39 in Johannesburg
2016: England won 37-21 in London
2014: South Africa won 31-28 in London
2012: South Africa won 16-15 in London

The teams

England: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Joe Marchant, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Manu Tuilagi, 11 Jonny May, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Tom Curry, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Courtney Lawes (c), 5 Jonny Hill, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Jamie Blamire, 1 Bevan Rodd
Replacements: 16 Nic Dolly, 17 Joe Marler, 18 Will Stuart, 19 Charlie Ewels, 20 Sam Simmonds, 21 Alex Dombrandt, 22 Raffi Quirke, 23 Max Malins

South Africa: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Jesse Kriel, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Kwagga Smith, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Trevor Nyakane, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nché
Replacements: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Franco Mostert, 20 Jasper Wiese, 21 Herschel Jantjies, 22 Elton Jantjies, 23 Frans Steyn

Date: Saturday, November 20
Venue: Twickenham Stadium, London
Kick-off: 15:15 GMT
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: Angus Gardner (Australia), Frank Murphy (Ireland)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (Ireland)

 

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Rassie Erasmus continues his disrepute

Planet Rugby features writer James While gives his view on Rassie Erasmus.

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