England were not lucky – this makeshift side showed guts
Eddie Jones’ men delivered a win based on effort and spirit, and their defence kept them in the game when other teams would have folded
Before last Saturday, South Africa had won 13 of the past 16 games against England and five of the past six at Twickenham. That was the context in which the triumph of Eddie Jones’s makeshift England team should be viewed.
Common wisdom is that England were lucky to win but is that correct? Were England lucky that several Springboks were sat in the stands because the game fell outside the international window? If so, South Africa were lucky to play England when nearly a full XV of possible first-choice squad players were injured.
Were England lucky that hooker Malcolm Marx had four overthrows and was nowhere near his worldclass self? If so, South Africa were lucky that Elliot Daly chose to step inside and not give the ball to Jonny May … and so it goes on. Sometimes opponents do not play well; that is sport. They also say that you make your own luck and England’s defensive effort kept them in the game when other sides would have capitulated.
Basically stated, this was an England win founded solidly on effort and spirit. Mark Wilson did nothing spectacular but he made repeated tackles and clear-outs without complaint. Alongside him, Tom Curry and Brad Shields battled their counterparts Siya Kolisi and Duane Vermeulen to a standstill. The England back three began to find fluency during the game and ended up starting moves which could, and probably should, have finished over the try line.
England were always going to get better as the game went on because you can only do so much on the training field. South Africa should have taken advantage of the indiscipline of Maro Itoje, who contributed three penalties and a yellow card in his first, brief, spell on the pitch. Had they done so, England might not have recovered. If, if, if … let us deal in facts. For all their possession and territory South Africa could not release their dangerous wingers for more than the most fleeting of times. They could not put a hastily thrown together England front row under sufficient pressure to gain more than one penalty. They compounded this by failing to concentrate on an important scrum in their own 22, from which England gained what turned out to be the winning penalty.
The contribution made by the England bench cannot be underestimated. Jamie George and Danny Care made their usual positive contributions and there is a strong case for each starting the game. The different balance given by George Ford’s introduction kept South Africa guessing in defence when they were starting to work out how to cope with a growing threat from England’s backs.
The lesser known names made decisive contributions. Ben Moon, Harry Williams and Zach Mercer all had bright cameos, with Moon’s effort at the scrum proving a game-altering contribution.
Those criticising the referee, Angus Gardner, appear to have forgotten their own mantra when it comes to officials, which is that they want consistency. If so, they cannot view the Owen Farrell decision in isolation, they must look at how Gardner ruled on similar incidents and particularly the one that gave South Africa three points to go into an 11–9 lead. Immediately before that penalty, Rudolph Snyman made shoulder contact with George Kruis’s head with Gardner taking the view that Kruis had ducked into the contact. Snyman’s challenge used no arms at all. If Farrell’s was a penalty and a yellow card, Snyman’s was a penalty to England and a red.
Take away the three points gained by South Africa and even had Handre Pollard kicked the final penalty, bearing in mind he had just missed a slightly easier one, England still win by a point.
Gardner’s view of the Farrell challenge was consistent with the way he viewed others. You can say he was too lenient all round but not that he was inconsistent.
If you say this England performance will not have New Zealand shaking in their boots, you are an idiot. The Kiwis do not quake at the prospect of playing anyone. England cannot afford to be so profligate with penalties. They will have to kick from hand with far more accuracy as the Kiwi back three, given similar largesse, will cut them to pieces. Saturday’s game is probably out of reach, barring a miraculous repeat of the game Manu Tuilagi played in 2012.
The one thing England must do is to stay in touch with the All Blacks and that takes guts, which they have shown they have.