Sam Cane ready for England’s ‘Kamikaze Kids’

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Sam Cane (left) and Jordie Barrett of New Zealand during a Captain's Run before playing Australia in Auckland, New Zealand, Friday, August 16, 2019. (AAP Image/David Rowland)

All Blacks flanker Sam Cane has praised England young guns Tom Curry and Sam Underhill ahead of this weekend’s World Cup semi-final in Yokohama.

The Red Rose back-row duo are inexperienced internationals but have impressed at the global tournament in Japan, helping them to reach the last-four stage.

Both were prominent in the quarter-final as they thrashed Australia 40-16, with Curry picking up the man of the match award for his performance.

They have been dubbed the ‘Kamikaze Kids’ by head coach Eddie Jones, and New Zealand openside Cane, who will go head-to-head with the youngsters, admits that they will pose a threat on Saturday.

“Underhill and Curry have been pretty impressive,” Cane told reporters. “Both have got a huge appetite for hard work and have very good skill-sets.”

Both Curry and Underhill play their club rugby at openside, but they have dovetailed nicely in what has become a bit of a trend at this World Cup.

New Zealand, with Cane and Ardie Savea, and Australia, with Michael Hooper and David Pocock, have also played two fetchers in the back-row, and the All Blacks flanker believes that it shows how rugby has developed.

“It probably shows where the game has evolved slightly, where the three (loose forwards) – particularly the flankers – roles don’t differ too much,” he said. “It just depends, I suppose, on a coach and what make-up he wants from his loose forwards too.

“Teams are so structured and probably the best chance to attack from unstructured is turnover ball, so you might increase your chances ever so slightly.”

The battle at the breakdown will once again be pivotal when the All Blacks and England face off on Saturday.

New Zealand have dominated that area for much of the World Cup, with Cane and Savea combining well, but the Chiefs player insists that they can still get better.

“I would love to think we have room for improvement, absolutely,” he added.

“Ardie has been working really hard on some of his set-piece work, which a number six is required to do a little bit more. But, pretty much, bar the set-piece our roles are pretty interchangeable. Whether that is attack or defence, things have been going all right.”

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