Defeat deepens England’s resolve
10 Jun 2012
England head coach Stuart Lancaster says their loss to the Springboks will make them doubly determined to reverse the result in Johannesburg.
England were the better side by some way in the first half and would have been a good bet to snap their losing streak against the Springboks on the strength of that showing. However, the Boks regrouped and improved after the break, upping the tempo to bank what turned out to be a comfortable win, despite what the 22-17 scoreline suggests.
Lancaster said the Springboks would pose an even sterner challenge in the second Test, but noted that so would England. He added that a three-Test series was a truer reflection of the superior team because it gave the coaching staff and players room to rectify areas of concern and have another crack.
‘A three-Test series is a great coaching challenge and a great opportunity to assess where we stand on the world stage. The boys are disappointed but not downcast. If anything there will be a motivation to right the wrongs,’ he said.
Lancaster pointed to their fade in the third quarter as terminal to their cause. ‘I was very pleased with our first half effort. We moved the ball well and kept it alive. At times they were scrambling hard to reorganise their line. Our set piece was good and we went into the break confident,’ he said.
‘Obviously a critical area to work on is that third quarter where the Springboks controlled the game well. They got good momentum off the back off the five-man lineout. And once they were across the gainline, no matter how quickly we got around the corner, eventually the hard-running forwards made a dent in us and Morne Steyn moved the ball wide and caught us defending narrow. A starting point would not be presenting opportunities in that area of the field and secondly we have to win the gainline battle, which is crucial against South Africa.
‘But I was delighted with the mindset we showed to keep playing for the 80 minutes though. There are one or two things that need to be worked on but there are a lot of positives.’
Forwards coach Graham Rowntree said the Springboks’ superior muscle off the wood was decisive. ‘The last quarter was crucial for us and they brought some fresh cattle on, fresh beasts, and we struggled to deal with that. That is an area to improve on.’
Lancaster rejected the suggestion they weren’t ambitious enough in their attacking play, pointing to their lack of experience as significant to tactical errors they made.
‘It wasn’t our risk taking. Composure is key. Have to ensure we play right place, right time. Equally when we have opportunities to get the ball off the field we do so. We also have to work on our exiting from our 22m. So I don’t think it was a mindset problem or a lack of positivity. It was a composure issue. That’s what happens when you play at this level – the margins are very small.’
13 Comments
9 Jun 2012, 22:02 pm
Where is that f…wit “The Oracle ….
What are your thoughts on what Graham Rowntree says about the Boks physicality??
Forwards coach Graham Rowntree said the Springboks’ superior muscle off the wood was decisive. ‘The last quarter was crucial for us and they brought some fresh cattle on, fresh beasts, and we struggled to deal with that. That is an area to improve on.’
Please give me all your facts on WHY the Boks physicality is a non-issue. And don’t just tell me ‘because the game is professional’.
Wanker
10 Jun 2012, 03:36 am
Piffle from Rowntree with his subs comment, South Africa had begun to pierce the gainline long before they brought subs on.
At least Lancaster has targeted the gainline battle but I’d love to know how he thinks he’s going to win it, if he selects the same pack of 8 they will lose it again that’s for certain.
10 Jun 2012, 10:47 am
england will attack habana’s side with more vigour in the next game. He really should learn not to drift inside and wait for those intercept passes. The all blacks and wallabies will exploit that in the championship terribly.
10 Jun 2012, 10:55 am
I also don’t see how Pierre Spies is giving us the forward momentum we need from a bok no.8. Of all the options in SA, Spies is lucky to be there. Vermeulen is my first choice with some real mongrel, then Danliels for his running and paasing capabilities and lastly Johnson for the same reasons. Spies are not, and have not in the past 3 years, shown the skill needed to sustain his hold on the position.
I remember an article on Keo comparing him to Herdanodiqui from France, saying he must still grow into that type of role of a player of all round skill and class. This was about 3years ago. How long must we still wait? Get rid of him already!
10 Jun 2012, 14:52 pm
You will definitely see a different England next week we will definitely beef up the pack and people like Ben Morgan and Mourtiz Botha will step it up. Morgan’s been nursing a hamstring injury thus only played 60mins but I thought he did well.
Dowson, Doran Jones and Mears are too lightweight thats why those last few scrums we had SA destroyed us. Doran Jones is a terrible prop dont know what the coaches see in him.
We were terrible in attack our kicking game was awful
Danny Care (Who has been sensational on the pitch not great off it) will come in for Youngs, Flood will come in for Farrell who for me has been terrible recently
Jonathan Joseph has to start at 13 hes a really special young talent who will cause South Africa problems with his electric speed, step and hands
10,12,13 is still a big problem for England still havent solved it since the 03 world cup
I get the impression Mike Catt doesnt have full control in the back line
Farrell, Barritt and Tuilagi just doesnt work
10 Jun 2012, 16:16 pm
The Poms blew their best chance of a victory and they blew their only chance to put Meyer under pressure – next weekend will be hell for Lancaster as the Boks will come out firing from the get go.
Boks to pummel the Poms by plenty.
10 Jun 2012, 18:05 pm
Of course no one really knows what’s going to happen next week. It all depends on whether the coaches and players can do what they’re supposed to do. It depends on the Boks not kicking away possession which is unfortunately a trademark of their play. If England learn to capitalize on it the way the Southern Hemisphere teams do, then SA will be toast. Hopefully Meyer will start with Lambie and Spies probably should be replaced as well.
10 Jun 2012, 18:13 pm
the good thing is that HM does not have to take instructions from the vapid comments on this site
he will analyse the stats and look at the ACTUAL game, rather than the one sided view a lot of people here will have taken.
put this in your pipe and smoke it: Spies is here to stay. check the actual stats in the game and go for councilling if neccesary.
Steyn is also here to stay for the time being anyway. Goosen is the only 10 that has a chance of lifting him from the Bok team, and even then he will be in the squad.
10 Jun 2012, 18:31 pm
I think this is actually the best England team of the last few years. There are still a few iffy positions, but overall they’re very solid for such a young bunch. And they’ll get better.
Having said that, the Boks will also be better next week. Going to be a cracker of a test. I reckon the Boks will take it, but by less than 7.
10 Jun 2012, 21:19 pm
@john123(john123)-5:
Funny, Farrell-Barritt-Tuilagi worked just fine against Wales, France and Ireland. Or is history being rewritten?
10 Jun 2012, 22:32 pm
No they didn’t England have had this 10/12/13 problem for years
Farrell/Barritt/Tuilagi are good defenders but don’t know how to attack all too one dimensional
10 Jun 2012, 23:50 pm
@john123(john123)-11:
Yes the axis worked fine – England dominated the midfield in all those games, and you do have to allow a 20 year-old outside half time to develop.
@Big Hit(Big Hit)-2:
You Saffers don’t have a monopoly on the gain-line. England will be looking to get more out of Tuilagi and Ben Morgan on Saturday. Morgan hadn’t played for 6 weeks before Kings Park so he should be sharper.
The one and only reason you stampeded in the third quarter was our poor kicking which set you up in one attacking position after another. Needless to say it will have to improve in Joburg.
11 Jun 2012, 06:35 am
Boks were poor and need to be better in my book.
Scoreline say’s it all.
Fans complained at the match while we got wet for nothing.
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