1 The 10 commandments
Fly-half has become a position of concern for England. Owen Farrell ▶ struggled to get an unfamiliar back division moving against New Zealand and South Africa, a consequence of his few appearances this season, or what the former Springbok fly-half Naas Botha called a lack of a natural rugby union brain. To Botha, Farrell is a rugby league player, seeking the structure of repeated contact rather than seeing the big picture. Like Jonny Wilkinson he is at his most effective when he has a strategic inside-centre with him. Kyle Eastmond, dangerous with the ball in hand, did not offer a tactical alternative to Farrell and England’s back line should be looked at as a whole: the combination of 10, 12 and 13 was not an effective mix. Manu Tuilagi is a significant loss but Stuart Lancaster, who has always been so emphatic in his thinking at 12, has not helped Farrell there this month. Three of England’s coaches are backs. Is their thinking clear or compromised?
2 Lies and statistics
Anyone looking at the match statistics will wonder how England lost. They enjoyed 57% of possession and 64% of territory, made eight clean breaks to three and beat 22 defenders to South Africa’s one. They made 107 carries to South Africa’s 77 and made 388 metres in possession compared with 217, with their opponents having to make twice as many tackles, but they never once held the lead. New Zealand have long mastered the art of winning matches when their opponents have most of the ball. What counts is not possession but how it is used and, apart from a couple of driving mauls ▼ when Victor Matfield was in the sin-bin and a series of phases at the end when they got the ball quickly away from the breakdown, England played in a fog. They made 141 passes to South Africa’s 57 but their wings rarely saw the ball. Their lineout, apart from one nine minutes from time, was productive but they did not use the set piece as a platform for the backs. England are poor at problem solving.
3 Discipline
England had fought back from 20-6 down to draw level with two tries in three minutes. South Africa were a man down and the home side had the momentum. Then Courtney Lawes was caught in possession inside the Springboks’ half and was penalised for holding on. Pat Lambie found touch inside the home 22 and, when South Africa caught and drive, Dave Attwood was penalised at the ruck. Another lineout and another drive not going very far saw Dylan Hartley play the ball on the floor with his hands. Schalk Burger scored from the resulting lineout and seven minutes later, Hartley ▶ found himself in the sin-bin after stamping on Duane Vermeulen. At the very moment they had taken control of the game, they handed it back. Lancaster talks about experience but Hartley was his most capped player and showed that it is not everything.
4 Selection
Lancaster was always going to change his side for Samoa, assuming the islanders turn up, but he will already be thinking about the formation against Australia the following week, a match that has become all the more significant because defeat would send England into the two-month international break before the Six Nations at their lowest point under their head coach. England were better in the forwards, carrying the ball more than they did against New Zealand and again strong in the set pieces, but the marriage with the backs is heading for the divorce courts: Danny Care at scrum-half looks caught between trusting his instinct and obeying instructions. England have not settled on combinations in the three-quarter line and one question, which should not need asking 10 months before the start of the World Cup, is whether the reserve fly-half, George Ford ◀, is able to bring more out of those outside him than Farrell. A genuine second five-eighth at 12 would help.
5 Rank and ranking
South Africa confirmed their place behind New Zealand at the top of the world rankings by finding a way to win, first by accepting gifts and then by digging deep. They were, for once, second-best in the set pieces, unable to crack England’s lineout until Hartley went off and they were under pressure on their own throw, but they fed off England’s angst, having noted the criticism thrown at the home side after the defeat by New Zealand. The Springboks had also lost that day, against Ireland, but were insulated from the fallout thousands of miles from home. Jan Serfontein’s early interception try ◀ was not down to chance and, as Lancaster acknowledged, South Africa played the smarter rugby. It was the third time the Springboks had played under the referee Steve Walsh this year, having beaten Wales 31-30 and Argentina 33-31. They have gone 12 matches without defeat against England, always seeming to do just enough.
