I look at this England side and I see so many similarities with the South Africa team who won the World Cup in 2007. It seems like things have come full circle for Eddie Jones because he was a World Cup winner with the Springboks 12 years ago and his England side are following the same blueprint as they look to defeat South Africa on Saturday.
The hallmarks are so similar - comfortable with little possession, prioritise territory, rely on a strong kicking game, decent set-piece and a strong defence. A quick look at the statistics back it up. When South Africa beat England 36-0 in the pool stages in 2007, they made 52 carries compared with England’s 90. They made 40 fewer passes than England and kicked from hand more often. In the final England made 43 more passes, nearly twice the amount of metres, but ended up on the losing side. In that pool match it was a culmination of control and very good defence. When you look at the teams who are in the World Cup final, when you describe their DNAs, it would be defence, set piece and physicality. That was everything that South Africa were in 2007, when Jones was assistant coach, and it is everything in which England pride themselves in 2019.
I wouldn’t necessarily say Eddie has actively sought to model his England side on the 2007 Springboks but like so many professional sportspeople, muscle memory is an important part of his armoury and I feel like that is what has happened. Organically, he has gone back to what he feels has worked. Whether it be intentional, whether he predicted this was the way the game was going to be played – he often talks about trying to get ahead of the curve in that sense – but we’ve discovered the new trend is actually the old trend. The trend that was set in 2007.
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Team guides
Pool A: Ireland, Japan, Russia, Samoa, Scotland
Pool B: Canada, Italy, Namibia, New Zealand, South Africa
Pool C: Argentina, England, France, Tonga, USA
Pool D: Australia, Fiji, Georgia, Uruguay, Wales
Rugby can pretty cyclical. At the last World Cup everybody was obsessed with having a second ball player. It wasn’t about the crash and the bash and the wallop, it was about the artistry of the game and how you can manipulate space. I think England are now a great illustration of a team who can do both. They picked a different midfield against Australia and when they’ve wanted to have a bit more control they’ve gone back to George Ford and Owen Farrell. That’s the adaptability England have needed to have in 2019 but in 2007 it was the first time we were exposed to the Springboks’ style of play.
What fascinates me is that because successful teams are often copied, South Africa’s success back then dictated how a lot of northern hemisphere sides went about things. None more so than Saracens. After the 2007 World Cup Eddie went to Saracens and the South Africa influence grew in terms of personnel but, I think, also in style. Because again you look at how Saracens have played to be so successful of late and on the whole it is the same style as South Africa in 2007. Then you look at how someone like John Smit, the South Africa captain 12 years ago, came to Saracens and then how much of the spine of Eddie’s side is from Saracens and suddenly things start to make sense.
Let’s go a step further. Let’s compare the current England team, not just in style but in terms of personnel, to that Springboks side. At full-back you have Elliot Daly and Percy Montgomery, two left-footers with cannons of a boot. For Maro Itoje and Courtney Lawes read Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha. Butch James and Owen Farrell are cut from the same cloth – all the way through the team there are similarities.
So does the South Africa model of 12 years ago work against the modern-day Springboks? What also strikes me is that South Africa were such strong favourites it felt like they almost had one hand on the trophy. In terms of public perception it’s a similar situation with England now.
The danger is to judge South Africa on the aesthetics of their performance against Wales. Was it a brilliant game? No, it was dull but they are in a World Cup final and they will not find that particularly boring themselves. They have shown over the last year or two that they have different styles with which they can play but they have settled on one for the tournament.
They will probably have a clear picture of what they think it takes to beat England after last summer and if I have one concern it is that no one has consistently challenged England in the air. I do have a suspicion that South Africa will feel that is an area of the game where they can get some change. They have some incredible athletes and if the kick is on the money they will pose a problem for England in the air. They clearly have a strong belief that they can kick and get the ball back.
But I’m optimistic. Often I think teams reflect their coaches. I look at Eddie’s personality traits and I see so much of that in this team. We’re talking about a guy who barely sleeps because of his work ethic, his energy levels and relentless pursuit of success.
And it’s not just him. One of the first people I thought about after the semi-final was John Mitchell. I spoke to him in the buildup to the tournament and he talked about being knocked out in the semi-finals in 2003 and how much it affected him and his family. He kept on repeating how much respect he has for the World Cup as a competition and, when you look at the defensive performance that he masterminded, it shines through.
