Be careful what you wish for. That would be my message to England supporters getting a little bit ahead of themselves and wishing that South Africa were due at Twickenham on Sunday. By all means get a little carried away – that’s the beauty of following a team on a winning run and it’s a demonstration of the confidence surrounding this England team at the moment – but the Springboks can wait until next summer.
South Africa remain the standard-bearers in world rugby. They are perfectly placed to achieve their goal of finishing the year as the No 1 team in the world and, given South Africa have never won in Dublin under Rassie Erasmus, there will be plenty of motivation to create another slice of history against Ireland on Saturday. The question is, have England closed the gap this autumn? And if so, by how much.
I believe that they have, because if you look at the three hallmarks of any great side, England have made progress. They are tracking really well, up to No 3 in the world, and they are the form team of the home nations. They will go into the Six Nations next year as favourites, alongside France.
The set piece has improved immeasurably since Steve Borthwick took over. The lineout wobbled against New Zealand but I expect that will just be a blip. And the scrum is now a genuine force. England had the best scrum in the Six Nations and you look at who is starting in the front row against Argentina – Ellis Genge, Luke Cowan-Dickie and Asher Opoku-Fordjour – and you look at what Borthwick has in reserve and England are now capable of excelling at scrum-time for 80 minutes.
Statistically, England are the leading side at successfully chasing kicks at present, which as we’ve seen over the past 12 months is an integral part of the game. Like scrummaging, it has been a staple of the Springboks’ success but again England have made strides. And their breakdown ability, to work hard and compete on the floor, has come on leaps and bounds. Would South Africa look enviously at any part of England’s game? Probably not, but there would be an awareness that the gap between the two sides is closing.
Still, there are areas where the Springboks remain streets ahead. As mentioned, South Africa’s coaching staff are the world leaders at utilising their bench, at being proactive when making changes. England have their Pom Squad but South Africa have been employing their Bomb Squad for years to devastating effect.
While Borthwick has talked up the potential of Henry Pollock and Ben Earl as hybrid players, we haven’t seen very much of it to date, certainly not from the start of matches. Compare that with the Springboks, who lost a hooker at the 2023 World Cup and brought in a fly-half who kicked them to the trophy. Cheslin Kolbe takes lineouts, André Esterhuizen plays both centre and flanker – England have a way to go before catching up in terms of these bold innovations.
The final area where South Africa remain out in front is defence. So far this autumn they’ve scored 125 points in their three matches and conceded just 38 despite receiving two red cards. I don’t intend to open that can of worms, only to say that a reset is required. It is clear to me that coaches, players and officials are not currently on the same page, and that needs to change.
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England have shown promising signs in defence, Richard Wigglesworth has taken over but he is being assisted by Byron McGuigan, who ran a tight ship on the summer tour of Argentina. There may be one or two concerns about the tries conceded against New Zealand, the manner in which the All Blacks had some joy in the No 13 channel, but England are not as porous as they were 12 months ago. And it helps that they are scoring tries – 14 so far this autumn – because that eases the pressure on the defence. That pressure can be suffocating when you know that you’re struggling to score points.
None of this is to say that England should be solely looking at the Springboks as the best team in the world and looking to copy them because by the time they catch up, the ever-innovative South Africa will have moved on. But rugby is cyclical, it goes in trends, and credit to Borthwick for recognising the areas in which the Springboks are world leaders, areas he believes he can ape and use to improve his side.
South Africa are not only the best team in the world, they are the best in the world in knockout situations, as demonstrated in the past two World Cups. It’s not easy to see how anyone will stop them making it three in a row, but the one question I would have is that there are several members of the squad who may not make it to the 2027 World Cup in Australia given their age.
The same cannot be said of Borthwick’s England. Barring one or two exceptions at most, every single member of the squad is on course for the World Cup. Borthwick demonstrated his thought process by immediately leaving Tom Willis out of the squad when it became apparent he would not be available for the tournament. Having such certainty at this stage over your playing pool is a major asset. If England are to upstage the Springboks in two years’ time, it is an asset Borthwick must maximise.
