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The ambitious England message Henry Slade has for the Springboks
By PA
Henry Slade has insisted that England will resist the temptation to strip back their game plan in a quest to rescue their autumn by toppling South Africa at Allianz Stadium on Saturday.
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England’s attack has evolved significantly since a watershed defeat by Scotland in February but they now find themselves in the midst of a four-Test losing run that is expected to be extended by the back-to-back world champions.
It took a long-range penalty from Handre Pollard to sink Steve Borthwick’s men at the death when the rivals last met in a ferocious 2023 Rugby World Cup semi-final that has turned this weekend’s meeting into a grudge match.
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England excelled at the Stade de France with a low-risk kicking strategy that was brilliantly executed but, in the words of wing Tommy Freeman, their ambition now is to “play big with our chests out”.
Slade added that they must continue to broaden their horizons – even against the Springboks. “We are not going to shut up shop and go away from what we are trying to do,” the veteran Exeter centre said.
“We have got a DNA of how we want to play, how we want to attack and how we want to defend. We have a specific way we want to play each week, catered to each team, but we have got our DNA in what we are trying to be about, which is ever-present.
“We will be pushing as hard as we can to accelerate that learning and improvement and hopefully get a good result against South Africa.”
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England’s ability with the ball in hand was evident in the five tries they scored in the 42-37 defeat by Australia last Saturday – a loss which has placed them in must-win territory heading into the penultimate fixture of the autumn.
Crucially, however, they also leaked five tries and their second highest number of points ever conceded at Twickenham, in the process missing a staggering 36 tackles. Joe El-Abd has taken charge of the defence following the shock resignation of Felix Jones in August and the aggressive blitz system introduced by the Irishman is now under the microscope.
“I feel like it is such a way of defending that if there is not a full buy-in, then cracks appear,” said Slade, an influential player for England due to his familiarity with the blitz as used by Exeter.
“The longer we have training, the more understanding everyone has as a group and getting on the same page, the more it can be a really powerful way of defending. We are trying to fast track that learning. I feel this week there has been a big step forward in that regard.
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“More emphasis has been put on it. We have had some games to review ourselves and had some scenarios to look at, so we can work out what we do in this scenario or that scenario.”
Narrow losses to New Zealand and Australia this autumn mean the stake are high at Twickenham this weekend. “When you look at things outcome-based, on the surface nought from two isn’t good with the double World Cup winners coming up. It is not an ideal situation to be in,” Slade said.
“But we feel like we have made some good strides as a group over these last four weeks and are looking forward to a big challenge on Saturday.”
England has shown they can compete with the Top teams but dropped their intensity in the last 10-15 minutes!
I do like Marcus Smith, maybe give him the full 80!
In last year's semi, England almost knocked us out of the RWC, with a clever drop-goal kicking game plan!
Most Bok fans are expecting the Boks to wipe England, I am a bit more cautious, England seems to know how to unsettle us!
Beaten 3 times in a row by a rebuilding AB team , upset by a very average Aussie side. Doesn't get any easier against the current world number one either. England are indeed in trouble
For whatever reason, England vs South Africa is always a “grudge match”.
It’s not beyond the realm of possibility that England beat the Springboks but it’s difficult to imagine at this point… the Springboks have only lost twice in 2024, both times by 1 point. England hasn’t been consistently good enough.
England have evolved no doubt, but expansive rugby is not the solution to beat the Boks. They are coming up against the best defensive team in the world. SA have conceded the least amount of tries this year. Even the rusty players find a way in the Bok team to grind out wins.
England vs everyone is a grudge match…!
England's attack hasn't evolved. It sucked against the ABs and against Australia, Marcus Smith was the only player who created anything.
Marcus Smith is one of the few outstanding players in that England team, I agree.
Almost as if he isn't a very good playmaker!
If we picked Feyi-Waboso at 10 we'd get a similar result.