When the Premiership clubs raise the issue of Eddie Jones’s national squad training sessions this summer, bristling at a high attrition rate, Twickenham should show a video of England’s latest defeat against a nascent South Africa side who were able to recover from an appalling start because of an ability, honed in Super Rugby, to play at sustained pace.
It was a Premiership player, the Sale scrum-half Faf de Klerk, who was his side’s catalyst, but the difference was at forward, where the Springboks retained their shape in the loose when a crazy game was at its most frenetic. England took an early 24-3 lead through the passing ability of George Ford that exploited a narrow, naive defence, but once the home side got hold of the ball, the failings that addled this year’s Six Nations campaign surfaced.
Written by Paul Rees
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2018/jun/09/england-south-africa under the title “Change of pace leaves England at a loss and clubs playing catch-up | Paul Rees”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
