DREAM SHATTERED IN MINUTES
Life is squeezed out of England by brutal Boks after start from hell
CANCEL t he vi ct ory parade. Cancel the endorsements. Cancel the party. By the time England went up to collect their runner-up medals, most of the players could not even bring themselves to put them around their necks. The party was off. It was the mother of all anti-climaxes.
England gripped the nation on their journey to the final but here Eddie Jones’ men were gripped by the throat and suffocated. The life was squeezed out of them at the scrum as their white jerseys, which were expected to be collectors’ items, were covered in blood.
Their bus arrived at the stadium 25 minutes late but in truth the team never turned up.
England were s ubj e c t e d to legalised violence. At one point in the first half, Mako Vunipola made a remark to the referee about ‘health and safety’ as necks were bent back-and-forth at the scrum. They had been warned what was coming but there was nothing they could do to stop it. By the time English bodies dropped to the floor at the final whistle, it was the biggest final defeat since 1999.
Perhaps Warren Gatland was right. England played their best game against the All Blacks in the semi- final and here they were unable to rediscover last week’s cutting edge. They failed to score a try as they ran into a South African wall reinforced by township steel.
Many of these Springboks grew up surrounded by tragedy. Siya Kolisi, their inspirational captain, turned up to his first rugby trial in his underwear because he could not afford shorts. One day, by which time English bruises and heartbreak will have eased, his story could be turned into a movie. South Africa tapped into their rugby’s DNA of aggression and confrontation. Pain was the name of the game.
After three minutes, Kyle Sinckler was lying unconscious on the pitch with his arms locked out like a zombie. It was a motor response to a blow to the brainstem, after he collided with Maro Itoje as they attempted to tackle Makazole Mapimpi, another township hero.
It was the start from hell. Dan Cole was thrown in cold to face the first scrum of the game. Tendai ‘Beast’ Mtawarira was primed and English knees buckled as their pack was driven into the turf and all but buried alive. It became a theme.
With no set piece, England had no platform for attack. Their fans, h a v i n g wa t c h e d their team overwhelm the All Blacks, booked over-priced last-minute flights and arrived in Japan with jet-lagged expectation. But with error after error, bruise after bruise and blow after blow, their optimism suffered a death by a thousand South African cuts.
On Friday night, Owen Farrell reiterated his message of doing the basics really well. Famous last words. Be it Willie le Roux ghosting outside George Ford, Eben Etzebeth stealing the l i neout or Ben Youngs throwing a pass directly into touch, it was a litany of errors.
Jones had no answers. For the first time, he was l ost for words. England’s coach was outthought by Ra s s i e E r a s mus . Those novelty plays paid off against New Zealand but here t h e y we r e ineffectual. Farrell stepped into England’s first lineout but no one could work out why. England t ri ed to fi ght fi re with fire. Muscle with muscle. At times during the match, some of the scenes were more akin to Thursday night’s famous Halloween party at Tokyo’s Shibuya Crossing, where thousands of locals dress up as Frankenstein’s monster o r a mummy.
Hooker Bongi Mbonambi was knocked out before the ogre-like 6ft 9in Lood de Jager walked off with his left arm hanging out of its socket.
But South Africa had equally imposing replacements — ‘ the Bomb Squad’ — to inflict more pain. At one point in the first half, England strung together 25 phases in Springbok territory but they were smashed behind the gainline by Etzebeth and Duane Vermeulen. Even Billy Vunipola was dumped on his backside and all England had to show was a clutch of Farrell penalties.
Jones made changes at half-time. George Kruis was brought on to shore up the lineout before Joe Marler was given a hospital pass introduction at the scrum.
England were still within touching distance. English t eams have
always made hard work of finals. In 1966, Geoff Hurst scored the winning goals in extra time. In 2003, Jonny Wilkinson waited till extra time to kick his drop goal. Earlier this year, it took until the Super Over before Jason Roy finally ran out New Zealand.
But here the late breakthrough never arrived. Other than one scrum penalty and one Tom Curry turnover, England barely landed a shot. Images appeared of South Africa’s name being etched into the trophy with three minutes to play but the engraver could have started the job 10 minutes earlier.
After 66 minutes, Mapimpi scored the try that had been threatening for so long. Faf de Klerk spotted space down the blindside before Lukhanyo Am, who is missing a finger, and Mapimpi linked up with deft chips and offloads. Everything stuck to South African fingertips, while nothing went England’s way. Anthony Watson fumbled the ball in attack, then Henry Slade knocked on running out of his own 22.
In the midst of the carnage, Cheslin Kolbe — South Africa’s very own Jason Robinson — fed off the scraps for one final try.
The party had started, albeit a few thousand miles away from where everyone was expecting it.