ENGLAND’S DANNY JOY
Cipriani and May earn victory at last
ENGLAND kept it simple, cut out the penalties and kicked their goals and this deserved win will put a spring back in their step, even though Rassie Erasmus and his South Africa side made it easy for them. I have absolutely no idea why Erasmus decided to experiment and start with back-up players at 10 and 15, replacing key players such as Handre Pollard and Willie Le Roux.
In Test rugby you keep your foot on opposition throats. South Africa were very poor and it was an incredibly deflating performance from them which undid a lot of the confidence they built up in the first two Tests.
Erasmus showed his inexperience. It was a really bad own goal and he will be regretting it. The Springboks have enjoyed a good record against England over the past decade but matches like this can change the whole momentum and I will be surprised if England don’t win with something to spare when they meet in November.
The encouraging thing from an England point of view is that they were good enough to take advantage of the South African gift. The forwards rediscovered their mojo and, more importantly, they finally got their discipline sorted out and coughed up just six penalties, which must be their benchmark going forward.
In contrast, South Africa leaked 14 penalties and when you have got Owen Farrell, for me the most consistent goal-kicker in Test rugby, that is almost always going to play out well for you.
After waiting 10 years for another Test start, it was ironic that Danny Cipriani found himself on a soaking wet pitch on which the ball was rarely going to progress beyond the scrum-half or the first wave of forward runners.
He probably cursed when he woke up and saw the conditions but he got his head down and did what the team needed, chasing Ben Youngs’ box kicks, keeping it simple on the few occasions when the ball did come his way, getting in the way of charging Boks forwards and hitting a few rucks when England were shorthanded.
And of course he provided the one moment of brilliance and inspiration in the game with that beautiful kick to create a try for Jonny May in the corner, which effectively clinched the victory.
We have seen so many times before with Wasps and Sale that he is not just a passing fly-half. When he is kicking he still likes to draw the defender in — in fact the South Africa defence seemed convinced he was looking for a pass and offload — but as three defenders closed in on him he just dropped the ball on his foot and nudged it 50 yards cross- field with perfect weight.
I said before the game that the Cipriani and May combination was an exciting one to contemplate and a scary one to defend against. We didn’t get any other opportunities to see that at Newlands but in better conditions and with the big ingoal areas at Twickenham i t’s definitely an option England need to develop.
That is what Cipriani will always give you and I hope and trust Eddie has finally been won over. Jones has got lucky with Cipriani, as he needed to be in a deep hole before he finally picked him and his selection alone gives England real momentum for the rest of what has been a really poor 2018.
All the reports suggest that Cipriani has worked hard on tour and been an exemplary squad member and I look forward to him being involved all the way to the World Cup next year.
While George Ford has not become a bad player overnight and still has much to offer, the way forward is for him and Cipriani to fight it out at No 10, with Farrell operating at 12. Cipriani has earned the right to always be part of the equation.
Another thing I hope Eddie has learned is that sometimes it really doesn’t pay to keep taking players off and bringing on replacements. Yes it was a slower-paced game yesterday because of the conditions but I was delighted to see Joe Marler and Jamie George stay on for the full 80 minutes and how well both performed. Indeed, most of the pack put in a full shift.
Unless somebody is visibly tiring, injured or having a complete nightmare, there is no need to start ringing the changes on 45 minutes. I believe Eddie has overdone the ‘finishers’ concept and will hopefully rein back on that.
Going forward, if Dylan Hartley is to return and if he is considered the first choice he should tell Eddie he wants to stay on for the full 80 or at least until the game is won.
There were some nice cameos yesterday. Kyle Sinkler had a good game, Tom Curry has learned quickly, Mike Brown, operating mainly at full-back even though he was wearing 11, was very solid again and showed he is far from finished. May has had an exceptional series in adversity and is adding lots of new components to his game.
The main positive from yesterday, however, is simply the win. England needed it so badly and it would have been horrendous for Eddie and the squad to have to wait till November to answer their critics, by which time the pressure would have built massively.
They will still feel under the spotlight but they have bought themselves some time to regroup now. They can rest a bit and then hopefully get back on track in November. It’s still all to play for.