A MAY DAY FOR EDDIE
Danny and Jonny to the rescue for England, with a lot of help from Curry, as worm turns at last
THE SIEGE has been lifted. Pride and faint hope have been restored. It is premature to talk of a full-scale revival, but England remembered how to win a Test match and that will do for now.
Eddie Jones needed a result to go his way and his wish was granted. A sixth successive Test defeat would have ramped up the doubts about the head coach’s future.
This precious victory — a triumph of substance over style before a glorious late flourish — will provide some respite and ease the pressure on the whole England set-up going into the summer break.
A season which disintegrated has at least ended on a positive note.
Their rapid freefall in 2018 has been halted. The prospect of a damaging whitewash was averted.
Any win away from home against one of the southern superpowers is a rare occasion to be cherished.
The fact that this one came in a dead rubber does not diminish its significance.
It was a consolation earned the hard way, on a wet, wild winter’s day. England’s pack were immense in turning the tables on the mighty South African forwards who had dominated the first two Tests.
Tom Curry was outstanding, Chris Robshaw put in a massive shift on his recall — as did the superb Joe Marler — while Maro Itoje was another who fronted up heroically.
The performance of Curry was particularly heartening for Jones. The 20-year-old has emerged as the answer to the perennial search for a bona fide openside.
He tackles with force, competes for the ball effectively and runs and passes well too. He has power, athleticism and composure. And he has a twin brother, Ben, with a similar all-round pedigree.
With a platform up front, England’ s pressure led to indiscipline from the Boks, which was a reversal of recent events.
The upshot was that Owen Farrell was given a stream of goal-kicking chances and he took them, landing all six penalties and one conversion for a personal haul of 20 points. In contrast, England conceded only six penalties, compared to 13 a week earlier. They did learn their lessons at long last.
There had been much pre-match focus on Danny Cipriani, after the fly-half was picked for his first Test start since 2008.
For much of an untidy game the playmaker was a peripheral figure but he still managed to pull a rabbit out of a hat, as he so often does.
It was his vision and stunning late kick which set up Jonny May’s try to clinch the win.
This time there was none of the high-octane attacking in the early stages by England. It wasn’t a day for free-flowing fun.
The wet conditions made it all about earthier qualities; workrate and intensity and physicality — along with accurate kicking. Farrell was equal to the latter task, but in an almighty mess of a close contest Jones’s men struggled to impose themselves and avoid a tide of errors.
Again there were loose lineouts, missed tackles, turnovers conceded and touch kicks missed. Nathan Hughes, the England No 8, suffered the indignity of breaking from a scrum and being driven back five yards by the diminutive scrum-half Faf de Klerk.
But Rassie Erasmus’s home side were making crucial mistakes too. Elton Jantjies was jittery after being recalled at No10.
It was his knock-on from a high kick which left the Boks under pressure as Robshaw stormed into the home 22. The move broke down but a penalty was awarded in range and Farrell dispatched it to double England’s lead. Yet there was still time for Jantjies to strike back at the other end to reduce the deficit to three points at the break.
The whole occasion livened up early in the second half. Farrell struck his third and fourth penalties in quick succession.
The problem for England was that in between the Springboks conjured up a long-range try, in defiance of the conditions.
Kriel surged clear on the left and replacement prop Steven Kitshoff blasted through a narrow gap to leave England’s defence stretched.
With a queue of team-mates in space out wide, Warwick Gelant kicked through cleverly and Kriel picked up to score.
Jantjies converted and, just briefly, the Boks were in front.
But Farrell kept punishing their indiscretions and after Daly had missed a long-range shot, England’s inside-centre knocked over his fifth penalty. So going into the final quarter the visitors led 15-10.
Eight minutes from time the ball fell loose in South Africa’s half and Mark Wilson — who made a big impact off the bench — pounced.
He picked out Curry, who released Cipria ni. Seeing team-mates waiting out wide, Cipriani sent a perfect back-spinning kick to the right corner where it bounced invitingly for May to score.
It was the wing’s third try of the series. This time it counted towards a vital victory. Farrell’s conversion and one last penalty ensured the consolation was emphatic.
England deserved to win and they needed to win. They fly home today with breathing space and renewed optimism.
The last four months have been a time of trouble and strife but this may yet go down as another watershed — the day the Jones regime’s second revival began.
SIR CLIVE WOODWARD’S VERDICT Dashing Danny surely must have won over Jones by now Go to Page 69