Hartley sets vision for inexperienced pack

Inclusivity and clarity of thought can help new players reach parity with seasoned Springboks

England’s lack of experience in their pack, in contrast to their seasoned Springbok opponents, would appear, at least on paper, to be an alarming feature of tomorrow’s Quilter international at Twickenham. While England co-captain Dylan Hartley, with 93 caps, will be the most experienced player in either squad, his seven team-mates in the England pack contribute a total of just 72.

Indeed, the pack’s combined total of 165 is dwarfed by South Africa’s 293 – even without their Premiership-based players such as Bath flanker Francois Louw, who has 62 caps.

England’s callow back-row unit of Brad Shields, Tom Curry and Mark Wilson features a total of just 10 caps and five starts (none of which have been at Twickenham), in comparison to the total of 100 caps for the gnarled Springbok trio of Siya Kolisi, Duane Vermeulen and Warren Whiteley.

The theme continues in the front row, where Alec Hepburn makes his first start, while Kyle Sinckler will be making his fifth start at tighthead prop. Together their experience is limited to a total of 15 caps; their opponents Steven Kitshoff and Frans Malherbe have 58 caps between them.

England’s bench is just as green, with Ben Moon (uncapped), Harry Williams (11), Charlie Ewels (six) and Zach Mercer (uncapped) contributing 17 caps, bolstered at least by Jamie George’s 28 appearances.

South Africa’s replacement forwards total 82 caps, more than double that of England.

Setting aside the sheer size and weight of South Africa’s ferociously physical pack, England must first solve the problem of compensating for their comparative lack of experience. One has to go back to June 2014 in the second Test against New Zealand for the last time England fielded a more inexperienced pack for a full-bore international.

Yet there appears to be no sense of panic during England’s warmweather camp in Portugal. There is a firm belief that lack of experience will not undermine their hopes of opening the autumn campaign with a victory tomorrow.

Senior players such as Hartley are playing a key role. Hartley says part of the solution is to first empathise with how his inexperienced team-mates will be feeling in the build-up to the match, while recalling memories of his own international debut against the Pacific Islands in 2008.

The second is to ensure the playing group are welcoming and inclusive to all newcomers.

“The environment is different to how it was when I started,” Hartley said. “Not comparing, but I would like to think any new player can take great confidence about the inclusivity of this group. When you are in it, you’re in it. I might have been nervous as I just wanted to get on, whilst not being too sure about what I needed to achieve in the game.”

The third point of England’s strategy to make up for their lack of experience is clarity of thought.

“We are concrete in what we want to execute at the weekend,” Hartley said. “So if you’re a player in either your first or 50th game, coming off the bench or starting, you know exactly what you need to do. You can take great confidence in the clarity about how we want to play, there is no confusion.”

Eddie Jones, the England head coach, says that framework is crucial in preventing nerves sapping the energy of inexperienced players.

“Players lack energy on the field and become nervous when they don’t know what to do,” Jones said. “Every team in the world is fit, but sometimes teams don’t look fit.

“We have worked really hard to make sure young Hepburn and Moon understand their role, and make it very clear how we want to play and what we think are the key contests in the game.

“Then they just have to get on with it. The more senior players around them, the ones we’ve got left, have to try to help them.”

George, with three Lions Test caps to his name, is now one of those senior players, even if he starts the match on the bench.

“It puts a bigger emphasis on myself and Dylan to take a big lead,” George said. “The way Kyle [Sinckler] and Harry [Williams] have stepped up over the last week has been excellent. We’re not worried about those guys being inexperienced. They are ready.”