Sam on rescue mission
ENGLAND will call on their emergency rescue specialist Sam Underhill on Saturday as the alarm bells sound to signal the presence of the most dangerous team in world rugby.
The Bath flanker is set to be included when the side to face New Zealand is named today, and will return to Twickenham for the first time since his wonder tackle on Scott Williams in last season’s Six Nations.
Tackling is Underhill’s stock in trade but that particular sprint, slide and rollover that stopped an almost certain try for Wales is a career highlight, given it won a tight game for England and prevented a bad championship from being a total write-off.
“That was a huge day, probably one of my favourite days playing rugby,” said Underhill.
“As a kid growing up in England, you want to play rugby for England at Twickenham and you want to be winning there. I would be delighted to get back there again.
“I would like to think I could offer something in defence – that’s an area of the game I enjoy a lot and an area where I try to influence the way we do things.
“New Zealand are obviously a very good team but you don’t think too much about the opposition. Instead you think about your own stuff.”
Underhill’s own stuff has been too often hidden from view in an injury-plagued nine months since, but it is fresh enough in the memory to make him an obvious stand-in for the stricken Tom Curry after missing out on a place against South Africa.
England co-captain Dylan Hartley said: “He plays in a position that’s hotly contested. We’ve got plenty of guys that can play there, so it’s just great for him – he gets another shot.
“We talked about the disappointment of not playing the other day but of still having a role to play. He has done his job incredibly well and guess what happens? He gets an opportunity this week. I’m happy for him.
“It’s a like-for-like swap with Tom. Sam’s a good defender. Remember the tackle in the corner against Wales? If we concede there, it is a different game. It was a great tackle, a great show of will and commitment and not giving up to the very end.”
With Curry out of the series, Underhill will have a key role in the new defensive system introduced by assistant coach John Mitchell this season.
It allows more in the way of free thinking than the construct that was there before, which carries with it an element of risk against the lethal All Blacks attack but has Underhill’s seal of approval.
“You wouldn’t tell the flyhalf exactly what to do every time he gets the ball in attack. On the flip side, when you’re defending you don’t want to prescribe too much to the lads,” said Underhill.
“The pictures on the field change a lot and you’ve got to be able to adapt to what’s in front of you. That adaptability and decision-making are ultimately what you want from your defence.”
England will be tested severely by the black blur coming at them in what will be Underhill’s first taste of the All Blacks.
The 22-year-old’s only previous exposure to New Zealand was a school tour in 2013 with St Thomas Rich’s in Gloucester.
“It wasn’t exactly the New Zealand first team but it was good,” he said. “I got to see what it was like out there and how much they’re into their rugby, which is pretty phenomenal.
“You see a little hamlet and there’s a set of rugby posts up. Everyone had something to do with rugby or had played. It’s a religion out there.”
KATY Daley-McLean, 32, will become the fifth Red Rose to reach 100 caps tomorrow night at Allianz Park after the 2014 World Cup winner was named in the England squad to face the USA.