JEREMY GUSCOTT
OUTSPOKEN AND UNMISSABLE… EVERY WEEK
SOUTH Africa's 31-29 win over New Zealand at the start of last month said so much about them as a team, and it sent a message to England that they have plenty of backline firepower.
Even without the injured Cheslin Kolbe, who can turn a match on its head, we saw the full potential of what they can do in the Rugby Championship. It convinced me that their backline is one of the top three in the world, alongside New Zealand and Fiji.
Lukhanyo Am is fast becoming the best centre in the world, if he isn't there already, and because Damian de Allende is a relatively quick 6ft 3in /16 stone straight power runner at 12, they are a great combination. It means that the Springboks can either crowbar it or skill it in midfield, and that if they cut loose more often their backs can be the best of the lot.
Am is very much his own player, rather than a copy of anyone else, and he is world-class because his worst game is an 8/10. He is speedy and cuts lines that are difficult to defend, and has such deft all-round skills that he opens up defences.
These include the brilliant behindthe-back pass which led to De Allende's try against the All Blacks, as well as precision handling that set up Makazole Mapimpi's try against England in the 2019 World Cup final.
Am can also shut the door pretty quickly in defence, as his big hit on Elliot Daly during the Lions tour demonstrated.
In many ways it was a very good thing South Africa were forced to play out of their comfort zone against New Zealand, because they proved to themselves that they can play any style they want to, not just box-kick and chase.
Added to that there are good players pushing through so that there is competition for places in the backs. For instance, at scrum-half Herschel Jantjies has shown he can raise his game to compete with Faf de Klerk.
Willie Le Roux is being challenged at full-back by Damian Willemse, who is a greyhound with a long, quick stride, and they can also call on the experience of big Frans Steyn. He reads the game well, and he showed when he came on against Wales in Cardiff last weekend that positionally he is better than Le Roux.
South Africa had their ups and downs in the Rugby Championship, particularly when they were beaten narrowly by Australia twice. But it just shows that any team is vulnerable when they are world champions because of how motivated every other side is – as England found out after the 2003 World Cup.
I don't know what it is about the English rugby culture that stops us performing well consistently. We've always had great performances in flashes in the past, and we've had the high point of winning a World Cup, as well as a number of Grand Slams, but it is far from consistent. It is disappointing when you consider the size of playing resources, and even though England go into most Six Nations campaigns with a good chance of winning, it is always a battle, and one that England only occasionally win outright.
“Can Marcus Smith kick accurately and intelligently enough to turn South Africa?”
Maybe the English club culture is a problem, with all club teams playing different structures, whereas in New Zealand due to central contracts they all play the same way. It makes it hard for any England coach to get the players all on the same page – although South Africa also have their fair share of the same inconsistencies.
If South Africa were able to cut loose they would be sensational, but it's not in their rugby culture. Rassie Erasmus is a more conventional coach than he wants us to think now he is Springbok director of rugby, and Jacques Nienaber is a strategist who was a defence coach before he was promoted to head coach.
I thought before the Lions tour that South Africa were there for the taking, and although they scraped home their team should have more confidence than they do in their ability to play in a number of different ways. It is why Wales could have beaten them, and why England, with two games to prepare, should be ready to go hard at them on Saturday.
South Africa might also be trailing off after spending most of the last six months in camp – and Handre Pollard sometimes leaves me unsure if he knows whether he is coming or going at fly-half. Sometimes his running game is spot-on, and sometimes average. He's a big bloke who likes to run, likes contact, and is fully committed, which is why he sometimes gets banged up.
Maybe that's why there does not appear to be too much structure to Springbok backline play – but you underestimate them at your peril, because individually they are very good, and if all of them are on the same page they can be sensational.
In some areas South Africa are already very effective, as we saw with their aerial kick-chase against the Lions. They are specialists at capitalising because the placement of players around the kick is so effective, and because they are so switched on in that area.
For England to have success so much of what they do has to stick, whereas South Africa find ways to win even when they are not playing well. England don't have that luxury because they don't have the calibre of player that makes it possible.
South Africa also have the benefit of a lead-by-example captain in Siya Kolisi. I've been around the South African camp a few times in recent years, and it is a relaxed, friendly, happy environment, and the captain contributes to that.
Kolisi is also a big, solid flanker who does not miss many tackles, and although I don't know that he's a natural with the referees, I'm sure he has the respect of all of them.
He makes his mark in defence, putting in some big bangs and leading by what he does on the field with good, consistent performances and a few choice words to the right people at the right time.
If England play poorly against the Springboks at Twickenham there is a chance they could get walloped, and if they play well they have a chance of winning.
We want to see Marcus Smith given his head at fly-half, but can he kick accurately and intelligently enough to turn South Africa? You cannot just run and run against them, because they will smash you down and the points against will mount – but with Smith, Ben Youngs, Owen Farrell, Henry Slade, and Freddie Steward in the side England should be able to play a good kicking game when required.
In the World Cup final England were too predictable and executed poorly, which undermined their attempts to play with pace. It is about varying your game against the Springboks, and keeping the pressure on them with accuracy and intensity, whether running the ball, kick-chase, or defending.
Smart rugby wins against South Africa.
