When England toured South Africa this week in 1972 they were in disastrous form, but ‘lambs to the slaughter became lions’
England faced Australia, New Zealand and South Africa in successive weeks in the knockout stage of last year’s World Cup. They vaulted the first two hurdles comfortably but stumbled before the third while Wales, who a few months earlier had won the grand slam, fell to the Springboks and the All Blacks in successive matches.
It was England’s fourth World Cup final, four more than the other home unions put together, but even in the days when they were also-rans in the then Five Nations, victims of selectorial whims, they had a facility to rise against the best that the Celtic nations lacked.
Written by Paul Rees
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/jun/04/breakdown-rising-through-crisis-will-always-be-englands-rugby-ritual under the title “
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