WE’LL BOUNCE BACK TO OUR BEST
Jones vows to right wrongs of Six Nations
DEFIANT England will enter hostile territory, encounter alien conditions and face fired-up rivals today, armed with a fervent desire to dispel the negativity which has engulfed them in recent months.
Results and rows have combined to create a siege mentality among the squad — a spiky, us-againstthe-world mood.
Three defeats in the Six Nations and a fifth-place finish burst the bubble of English prosperity under Eddie Jones. Late last month, a grim ordeal at the hands of the Barbarians — who plundered nine tries and enjoyed the freedom of Twickenham for long periods — intensified the sense that a crisis was starting to unfold, the year before the World Cup.
Jarring disputes have aggravated the situation with a club v country collision over the injury toll at England training camps and an awkward stand-off with the New Zealand Rugby Union over the recruitment of Kiwi flanker Brad Shields. Add the long, illustrious casualty list and the disruptive news that defence coach Paul Gustard will soon leave to take charge at Harlequins and the backdrop to this South Africa tour has been turbulent in the extreme.
But Jones and his squad are hell-bent on making a mockery of increasingly gloomy forecasts.
The head coach bristled as he set the tone for this afternoon’s series opener against the Springboks, saying: ‘Everyone’s bagging (criticising) us, everyone’s saying we can’t win. From ex-players to excoaches, (they’re saying) we’re no good, so it’s a great opportunity for us to show we are of value.
‘We went through a period when we were very successful. We came to the end of that period. We got tactically, physically and mentally tired and that was shown in our results. We’ve all had a break, had a look at where we want to go tactically and how we want to prepare as a team. It’s a fantastic opportunity for us.’
The party line is that this is ‘new’ England, with a rejigged team, a new captain in Owen Farrell and a ‘new way’ to play the game. What is clear is that the visitors will be galvanised today by a belief that they have been harshly and prematurely written-off.
‘We learned a lot about ourselves in the Six Nations,’ said Farrell. ‘We were probably not as bad as everyone made out at the time.’
Ellis Park is the iconic, intimidating cathedral of Springbok rugby and seems an unlikely place to launch an English revival.
But, while the hosts are marginal favourites, there will be no trepidation among the tourists about facing southern hemisphere rivals at the end of a shattering campaign. On this side of the equator, England have played five and won five under Jones. They whitewashed Australia 3-0 in 2016 and followed that by winning backto-back Tests in Argentina last summer, despite having to field raw sides due to the absence of a large Lions contingent.
George Ford featured in all five victories and the fly-half insisted there has been a mindset shift since the days when weary northern teams ventured south to take their medicine every June.
‘On past tours, it may have been a bit like that, but certainly under Eddie it’s been about going up against the best teams in the world, performing and winning,’ he said. ‘Maybe there was that (psychological barrier) before.’
Rassie Erasmus, South Africa’s new head coach, has claimed this will be a series between two ‘desperate’ teams, but the English rut is not as deep as the one the Boks find themselves in.
They have been a rabble in recent years and the belief a renaissance is in the offing is, as yet, based on wishful theory rather than telling substance. Last week, a shadow team were poor in losing to Wales in Washington DC. Erasmus is without so much clout, especially up front, where the hosts must attempt to establish their direct, power game without Malcolm Marx, Bismarck du Plessis, Eben Etzebeth and Lood de Jager — their leading hookers and locks.
The last time England came to Ellis Park, they were battered, but there must be doubts about the ability of this Bok pack to inflict similar damage. They will need a platform to unleash their highoctane back three unit, featuring Willie le Roux — the brilliant Wasps full-back who must help to support two uncapped wings either side of him.
England will seek to target the newcomers using their aerial firepower. Rarely, if ever, can an international side have amassed such an arsenal of kickers.
Ford and Farrell will be supplemented by Elliot Daly, Mike Brown
and Henry Slade — all left-footers with considerable range.
Add the box- kicking of Ben Youngs and the visitors are surely preparing to play a territorial game. Realistically, England must win this opening contest to claim the three-match series as South Africa will surely improve as their new combinations knit.
Jones’s side have a significant experience advantage, but Nick Isiekwe is making his first start at lock, while teenage openside Tom Curry is another Test novice up front.
South Africa will be motivated to prove that an era of renewed hope and success is at hand.
Siya Kolisi will lead them, as the country’s first black Test captain, and he said yesterday: ‘It feels like a new beginning for all of us. We always turn up when we play here and this is one of the awesome Test matches. It is a special one and that is why it is such a big occasion.’
That goes for both teams. England need a re-boot. They need a positive result to clear the negativity, ease the pressure and provide reassurance the bandwagon has not been shunted off course completely. It will be tense and savage but they are capable of achieving that vital objective.