Coach Jones leaving nothing to chance
TOKYO: England hope to have all bases covered should “cunning” South Africa coach Rassie Erasmus try to spring a tactical surprise in the World Cup final.
While England won through to Saturday’s showpiece match in Yokohama with a dynamic 19-7 win over New Zealand that ended the All Blacks’ eightyear reign as world champions, South Africa ground out a 19-16 semi-final victory over Wales in a turgid set-piece contest dominated by box-kicks.
Nevertheless Jones, who together with England defence coach John Mitchell was among a crowd that saw the Springboks edge out Wales on Sunday, said yesterday: “They won a tough semi-final, and when you are in the final of a World Cup you have done a lot of things right.
“They are a massively aggressive physical forward pack, they probably played their stronger team in the second half as opposed to the first. They are going to be a difficult side to beat.”
Wales were drawn into a kicking contest but if England can replicate the high-tempo yet physical game that stunned the All Blacks they will pose problems for the Springboks.
“We are going to enjoy the preparations this week, getting ourselves right,” said Jones, the coach of his native Australia when England beat the Wallabies in the 2003 World Cup final.
“We know a couple of areas that we think we can expose in them and we’ll make sure we are well-prepared in those areas,” he added.
“Rassie is a cunning coach, a good coach and has done a great job with the Springboks. We’re prepared for the unexpected.”
Jones highlighted the skills of South Africa half-backs Faf de Klerk and Handre Pollard as proof of the variety within the Springboks’ game.
“They can play in different ways. You saw Faf de Klerk do 15-20 box-kicks in the game but we know Pollard is an excellent kicker.
“The way he goal-kicked was fantastic,” said Jones of Pollard’s 14-point haul, which included four penalty goals and a conversion.
“He was smooth, nice touch on the ball and that is a wonderful advantage for them.”
But asked during a news conference yesterday if he had taken many notes while watching the match, Jones reverted to typical wise-cracking form.
“I actually forgot my pen last night so I had to go for the high technology, the iPad, which I’m not that flash on. So there wasn’t too many notes there.”