English coach Stuart Lancaster said there were plenty of positives to take from their 22-17 defeat to the Springboks in Durban, with the first half a tight affair that saw both teams head to the sheds levelled at 6-6 all.
allblacks
The opening half arm-wrestle saw a distinct clash of styles.
The Springboks were clearly focused on the old school, looking to use their heavyweight pack, led by the abrasive 120kg Willem Alberts, to bludgeon the visitors into submission.
Hints of the Bulls gameplan also came to bear, but the English were able to counter effectively with Ben Youngs having an excellent opening 40 minutes, while the fetching style of captain Chris Robshaw and Tom Johnson gave them honours against a Springboks back row with no specialist openside.
However Springboks coach Heyneke Meyer, who looked almost as if he was aging with stress during the first half, admitted to lashing out at his players at halftime, and it was a different team that came out in the second half.
Not so much different in tactics, but there were raised levels of brutality that only a Springbok pack can unleash, while there was a hint more creativity in the backline, with Morné Steyn and Jean de Villiers crossing for tries in a compelling third quarter for the home team.
Moving to altitude for the second test, Lancaster said the team would head to Johannesburg in high spirits.
“From our point of view, I was really pleased with the first-half performance. There are a lot of positives to take,” he said.
“The critical area for us to work on is that third quarter where the Springboks controlled the game well and scored their two tries.
“I am delighted with the comeback at the end (with Ben Foden scoring near the death) and the mindset we showed to keep playing.
“For a lot of young players out there, and the new caps, there were some fantastic performances all round. I am really pleased with a lot of aspects of the game. There are one or two areas to work on but lots of positives as well, so we will go in really good heart to Johannesburg.”
England have two injury concerns after the match, with midfielder Brad Barritt leaving the second half with an injury to his face, while fullback Mike Brown had a hand injury.
1skysports
England need to find a way of breaking free of South African shackles in the coming weeks, according to backs coach Mike Catt.
Despite plenty of willing endeavour, Catt admits that England were stifled in attack and starved of chances in the first Test defeat by the Springboks in Durban.
England were edged out 22-17 at Kings Park and now face a tough task to level the three-match series at altitude in Johannesburg next week.
“At the start of the second half we just didn’t get any momentum,” said former England international Catt “That go-forward we had in the first half.”
“That is a little bit disappointing and something we can look at. We will address it with the boys and let’s make sure we don’t put ourselves in those situations again.”
“With the attacking options we’ve got we would have liked to have had more ball in hand and I think that is something we have got to look at – why aren’t they getting more ball.”
Frustrating
England reshaped their back three with Harlequins full-back Mike Brown coming in for his first start in four years and Ben Foden moving to the left wing.
Chris Ashton continued to fill the right-wing berth but, although Foden claimed England’s last-gasp consolation try, it was a frustrating night for the trio.
“Ash is working exceptionally hard, off his wing continually,” Catt added. “Those chances haven’t come for him just yet.”
“But the back three of Foden, Brown and Ash – it is the first time they have played together.”
“There will be more continuity next week. We can work on the things Browny and Fodes think we need to work on.”
England performed strongly in defence but relentless Springbok pressure paid off in the second half as tries from Morne Steyn and captain Jean de Villiers put the hosts into a decisive lead.
Phenomenal
Forwards coach Graham Rowntree said: “I actually think the set-piece was a good area for us going into the last quarter.”
“But the last couple of scrums – they brought on some fresh ‘cattle’ and we struggled to deal with that.”
“That is something we will be working on this week but my overall feel from the forward pack, I was very pleased, particularly with the lineout.”
“I have to make a special mention for Joe Marler and Tom Johnson, I thought their workrate was phenomenal.”
“There are areas to improve on, as always against these big teams, but we will improve in the week.”
They can be as positive as they want… they lost!
Stuart Lancaster has been in charge of England the whole Six Nations, at the Barbarians game and now in this Test, has had fresher players due to the fact that the English season has effectively been over longer and many more players rested…. and by now one would expect Lancaster’s stamp to be squarely on the England side.
That resulted in them faring well for 40 minutes… but not more.
Yip, English media games as usual. They are spinning the story that they won the first half and just lost in the 3rd quarter! The reality of course as we know is that they just managed to hold the Boks out in the first half and then were swamped in the second. They were lucky to lose by only 5.
I read Brad Barritt will miss the next test against Boks with a lacerated eyeball, ouch how on earth did that happen, hopefully it was purely accidental? He has just had an operation to repair it and apparently should be ready for action for the 3rd test already!
@ Bullscot:It didn’t look good when he left the field, and had the op early on Sunday morning. He, himself is confident it will mend quickly. So should be back for the 3rd test. England will miss him next weekend. He had a very good game, I think.
I am so very happy to see the Boks with a good coach,a good team, mentally correct and playing like the Boks are meant to play.
The future after 4 long years looks bright!!
Great potential from the new caps, and the seasoned players concentrating on mastering the basics all with committment expected from the Boks.
And lastly what a great difference a superb scrumming coach has made!!
It is not a difficult game when all the right people are running the show!!
tighthead @ 5
morning darkness, my old friend
havent seen you in a loooooooong time!!
@ ashley:
Ashley my bru!!
I have been waiting for the Springboks to start the new era, and here we are with exciting young players ready to take on the world and senior players playing like they have just started like Habana on Saturday!!
tighthead @ 7
your timing is perfect bru
i was just about to say that i miss your presence on here 😳
(phew)
good thing i never went that far!! 😀
Die blondine gaan binnelandse sake toe. Sy wil ‘n sterfgeval registreer. Die klerk agter die toonbank kry die vorms en vra:
“Oorledene se naam?”
Blondine: “Petrus Johannes Botha.”
Klerk: “Geslag?”
Blondine: “Nee,darem nie. Hy’s in sy slaap dood
A guy and a girl meet at a bar.
They get along so well that they decide to go to the girl’s place.
A few drinks later, the guy takes off his shirt and then washes his hands.
He then takes off his trousers and again washes his hands.
The girl has been watching him and says
“You must be a dentist.”
The guy, surprised, says:
“Yes …. How did you figure that out?”
“Easy..” she replies, “you keep washing your hands.”
One thing leads to another and they make love.
After it’s over the girl says: “You must be a good dentist.”
The guy, now with an inflated ego, says:
“Sure – I’m a good dentist. How did you figure that out?”
The girl replies: “Didn’t feel a thing.”
After having dug to a depth of 10 feet last year, British scientists found traces of copper wire dating back 200 years and came to the conclusion that their ancestors already had a telephone network more than 150 years ago.
Not to be outdone by the Brit’s, in the weeks that followed, an American archaeologist dug to a depth of 20 feet, and shortly after, a story published in the New York bulletin: “American archaeologists, finding traces of 250-year-old copper wire, have concluded that their ancestors already had an advanced high-tech communications network 50 years earlier than the British”.
One week later, the Cape bulletin, in South Africa, reported the following: “After digging as deep as 30 feet in his backyard in Thabazimbi, South Africa, Lucky Simelane, a self-taught archaeologist, reported that he found absolutely nothing (aziko, fokol). Lucky has therefore concluded that 250 years ago, Africa had already gone wireless.”
4@ Just For Kicks:
Gosh thats just seems amazing turn around time from such an op, but am not a medical person so maybe it was just looks and sounds worse than it is, maybe was just a small lazer procedure. These sportsman are really fortunate to get such quick efficient medical treatment, sounds like the English management team were very impressed with the treatment Barritt got.
11@ ashley:
your posts can sometimes bring a big smile its nice how a bit of humour can help destress things at times thanks man 
Good one ash, magtig maar jys ‘n grap kas
bullscot @ 13
always a pleasure!!
hope the jokes help disguise the fact that i know absolute f*kkol about rugby, hehehehe
i hope THIS is a f*ckin joke!!
from news24
…
R2.2m dream car for Hougaard
2012-06-11
Springbok and Bulls scrumhalf Francois Hougaard has taken delivery of a brand new Audi R8 Spyder 5.2 FSI Quattro.
The high-performance car retails at over R2.2m.
Hougaard, who earned his 16th Springbok Test cap in the team’s 22-17 victory against England last Saturday in Durban, said: “I’m really looking forward to driving this stunning set of wheels. It has been my dream car for quite some time. A big thank you to my sponsors for making it happen
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