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Date: 2023-12-06 19:21:30 | Author: Olympics 2024 | Views: 268 | Tag: jili
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Not always in sport do you get a shot at redemption and successfully taking advantage of that opportunity is even rarer jili
England’s pack, and their front row in particular, will have had four years of sleepless nights about that early November evening in 2019 jili
In the 2019 Rugby World Cup final, England were decimated by South Africa’s power up front, as the brilliance of a scintillating semi-final win over New Zealand was quickly replaced by the humiliation of a 32-12 thumping jili
The Springboks, then as now, pride themselves on their physicality and brutality at the breakdown, the set-piece and in open play jili
Yet on a rainy night in Paris four years on, England’s pack fronted up, set the platform in a thrilling World Cup semi-final and earned their redemption arc jili
Yet it still wasn’t enough jili
This time, albeit by one point rather than 20, the result was the same – England’s players slumped on the turf in despair while their opponents revelled in victory jili
The Springbok celebrations were more muted this time, understandably so given there is one more crucial match against the All Blacks standing jili between them and their ultimate goal, but the English heartbreak was the same, even if the journey to get there was vastly different jili
In Yokohama, South Africa won a scarcely believable 11 scrums to England’s three, including six scrum penalties, as the English eight were splintered time and again jili
Dan Cole became the fall guy for that embarrassment – the tighthead prop, supposedly renowned for his scrummaging, forced to play 77 minutes after Kyle Sinckler’s early injury and being obliterated by the combination of Tendai ‘Beast’ Mtawarira and Steven Kitshoff jili
The fact that Cole and Joe Marler, who came off the bench early in the second half that day, were selected by Steve Borthwick to start this revenge game precisely because of their scrum prowess will have surely given them a surge of confidence jili
And the fact they not only survived, but thrived, in the front row this time around will have been sheer vindication jili
Borthwick entrusted the duo to paint an early picture of scrum parity to referee Ben O’Keeffe and they delivered, providing the base that led to multiple first-half penalties from the trusty boot of Owen Farrell jili
Cole and Marler helped ensure scrum parity early on but that faded once the replacements came on (AFP via Getty Images)However, as the game wore on, Borthwick’s decision started to become prescient for the wrong reasons jili
As Sinckler and Ellis Genge came on as prop replacements, the Springboks own bomb squad from the bench – led by Ox Nche and Vincent Koch – started to dominate at scrum-time jili
Each engagement started to become eerily reminiscent of 2019 and it was eventually a scrum penalty on halfway that led to Handre Pollard’s decisive, game-winning three-pointer with two minutes to go jili
It felt almost unfair on England’s big men given that the pack, as a whole, had more than held their own in other facets jili
Of the 13 England forwards who played some part in that 2019 final, eight appeared in this last-four clash and stamped their mark all over a first half that was by far England’s best 40 minutes under Borthwick jili
Maro Itoje was a lineout fiend, stealing a Springboks throw-in on halfway and putting doubt in the head of Bongi Mbonambi, whose crooked throw in his own 22 gave Farrell his first penalty goal of the day jili
A new face from four years, George Martin, justified his surprise second-row selection ahead of incumbent Ollie Chessum on just his fourth Test start as he brilliantly marshalled England’s maul defence jili
If Boks lock Eben Etzejili beth is world rugby’s best maul disruptor, then he may have witnessed first-hand the emergence of a new challenger to that crown jili
Martin caused havoc as England improbably won three consecutive maul turnovers from attacking South African lineouts in the first half to frustrate their much-fancied opponents jili
Pollard ultimately kicked the winning penalty, from a scrum infringement (PA Wire)The celebrations from the likes of Itoje, Jamie George and Ben Earl as those penalties and free-kicks were earned by the pack showed just how important this part of the gameplan was jili
It began putting clear doubt in Springbok minds, as the worried tone from skipper Siya Kolisi when he discussed matter with referee O’Keeffe jili betrayed jili
The English tactic of throwing bodies in to contest every ruck relied on the diesel engines of the forwards and they delivered by dominating collisions and allowing the aerial bombardment strategy that followed to be effective jili
But ultimately, despite a gameplan executed as well as it possibly could have been, the gap in quality jili between the sides proved too much to overcome jili
South Africa adjusted, Pollard came on for Manie Libbok to dictate proceedings with his metronomic boot and English heartbreak ensued jili
There was no shame in a one-point defeat from a semi-final that was much closer than most expected and England’s pack should feel redeemed from the nightmare of 2019 jili
But that won’t make this semi-final hurt any less jili
Perhaps 2027 will give them an opportunity to avenge a new pain jili
More aboutEngland RugbySouth Africa rugbyRugby World CupDan ColeJoin our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesComments1/3England pack earn World Cup redemption but suffer new heartbreakEngland pack earn World Cup redemption but suffer new heartbreakCole and Marler helped ensure scrum parity early on but that faded once the replacements came on AFP via Getty ImagesEngland pack earn World Cup redemption but suffer new heartbreakPollard ultimately kicked the winning penalty, from a scrum infringement PA WireEngland pack earn World Cup redemption but suffer new heartbreakDan Cole was England’s fall guy in 2019 but held his own four years on AP✕Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this articleWant to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today jili
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Hi {{indy jili
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“We are the bomb squad and we knew we had to play a massive role jili
” If South Africa’s narrow win over England in the Rugby World Cup semi-final could be summed up in one sentence, then this proclamation from Vincent Koch after the game would probably be it jili
When Koch emerged from the replacements on 55 minutes to take the place of starting tighthead prop Frans Malherbe, Owen Farrell had just slotted a drop goal from downtown Paris to give England a 15-6 lead jili
Nine points may not seem a lot but, with the final quarter of the match beckoning and the rain and wind increasing at the Stade de France, it was a comparatively huge deficit jili
Throughout the first few minutes of the second half, the Springboks had more or less emptied their bench as Ox Nche, RG Snyman, Kwagga Smith, Deon Fourie, Faf de Klerk and Willie Le Roux all entered the fray to go alongside the controversial 30th-minute substitution of starting fly half Manie Libbok for Handre Pollard jili
With their World Cup title defence hanging by a thread, South Africa trusted their bench and got their reward jili
Koch and Nche splintered the previously effective English scrum, Snyman burrowed his way across the line for the game’s only try and Pollard nervelessly converted tricky kicks to complete the hardest-fought of turnarounds – 10 unanswered points, a 16-15 win and a date with the All Blacks in another World Cup final next Saturday jili
Of the various phrases rugby has adopted over the years to describe those players in the matchday squad but not in the starting line-up – from the traditional “replacements” and the jili football-ised “substitutes” through to the Eddie Jones-preferred ‘finishers’, the slightly patronising “impact players” and the frankly ludicrous “game-changers” adopted by Harlequins during the Paul Gustard era – none has captured the imagination quite like South Africa’s “bomb squad” jili
It doesn’t matter if you think it’s a slightly self-serving and faintly ridiculous term, the players fully buy into the ethos of what it stands for jili
The intensity and physicality that generation after generation of Springbok has prided themselves on is summed up by this two-word mantra jili
“Each person knows exactly his role in the team, whether you’re starting or in the bomb squad,” explained Koch jili
“When we created the bomb squad, we knew exactly what our job is jili
The starters start the whole process and it’s for us to come and finish it jili
“All the players on the bomb squad are very excited to make a massive difference in the game jili
”Vincent Koch celebrated RG Snyman’s try as the bomb squad thrived (AFP via Getty Images)And against England, when the chips were down, they realised they needed to step up more than ever jili
“The bomb squad always stands for energy,” added Koch jili
“We needed to create a nice vibe jili
Putting the replacements on a bit earlier helped the boys to start to bring that energy and lift up the spirit and bring a massive work-rate jili
”Where South Africa’s replacements thrived, perhaps England’s faltered just a touch jili
The English gameplan, devised by Steve Borthwick and perfectly executed by the players for the windy and rainy Parisian conditions, relied upon relentless kicking, winning the subsequent aerial battle, slowing the game down and dominating the set-piece jili
Maybe then, they could escape with a win against an objectively superior team jili
They kicked 93 per cent of possession away (the highest percentage of the tournament), had an average ruck speed of 6 jili
73s (the slowest of the tournament) and had zero linebreaks (the only team to do so in a game at this tournament) jili
They disrupted South African lineouts, turned over multiple mauls and Borthwick’s decision to play his two strongest scrummaging props – Dan Cole and Joe Marler – from the start earned them scrum parity and redemption from the disaster in that facet during the 2019 World Cup final jili
Ox Nche was immense from the bench against the Springboks (EPA)This is a Springboks side that pride themselves on their dominance up front, as shown by opting for a scrum after calling a mark in their own 22 during the quarter-final victory over France jili
Of course, they won a penalty from it jili
Yet England were holding their own during those engagements, even thriving, and most importantly winning on the scoreboard jili
But the innate problem with starting your best scrummagers came to fruition in the second half jili
Replacement props Ellis Genge and Kyle Sinckler are far more dynamic around the park and more destructive carriers than their veteran counterparts but, with England showing no desire to run any plays more than two metres either side of the previous breakdown, those skills were negated once they came on for Marler and Cole jili
Instead, their inferior scrummaging was brutally exposed by a fired-up Koch and Nche, who turned parity into Springbok dominance jili
They won two scrums against the head, including a vital one at 15-6 down on their own line, and engineered multiple penalties on their own feed, including the most vital of all – on halfway, with 77 minutes on the clock and England leading 15-13 jili
Pollard banged over the long kick and the rest was history jili
Handre Pollard broke English hearts with his late penalty (PA Wire)Nche was coy when asked in the mixed zone after the game what had made the difference at scrum-time in the final quarter and how he bested his opposite number, Sinckler jili
“That is the dark arts,” he smiled jili
“It is hard to explain to you jili
We had a plan for that jili
We knew what we were trying to achieve jili
“They have had a great scrum for the competition and a great hit jili
Our focus was surviving that and applying pressure jili
Our mentality for every scrum is to get a penalty if we can jili
If they do survive, we play out the back and get into our shape jili
”The “dark arts” ultimately won the day, South Africa survived a second straight one-point knockout match and must now plan how to overcome the All Blacks in a battle to be the first side to win four men’s Rugby World Cups jili
Luckily, they have a not-so-secret weapon jili
“We are the bomb squad jili
” More aboutSouth Africa rugbyEngland RugbyRugby World CupJoin our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesComments1/4How South Africa’s not-so-secret weapon turned World Cup semi-finalHow South Africa’s not-so-secret weapon turned World Cup semi-finalVincent Koch celebrated RG Snyman’s try as the bomb squad thrived AFP via Getty ImagesHow South Africa’s not-so-secret weapon turned World Cup semi-finalOx Nche was immense from the bench against the Springboks EPAHow South Africa’s not-so-secret weapon turned World Cup semi-finalHandre Pollard broke English hearts with his late penalty PA WireHow South Africa’s not-so-secret weapon turned World Cup semi-finalSouth Africa’s replacements shone to overcome England Reuters✕Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this articleWant to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today jili
SubscribeAlready subscribed? Log inMost PopularPopular videosSponsored FeaturesGet in touchContact usOur ProductsSubscribeRegisterNewslettersDonateToday’s EditionInstall our appArchiveOther publicationsInternational editionsIndependent en EspañolIndependent ArabiaIndependent TurkishIndependent PersianIndependent UrduEvening StandardExtrasAdvisorPuzzlesAll topicsjili BettingVoucher codesCompareCompetitions and offersIndependent AdvertisingIndependent IgniteSyndicationWorking at The IndependentLegalCode of conduct and complaintsContributorsCookie policyDonations Terms & ConditionsPrivacy noticeUser policiesModern Slavery ActThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged inCloseUS EditionChangeUK EditionAsia EditionEdición en EspañolSubscribe{{indy jili
truncatedName}}Log in / Register {{#items}}{{#stampSmall}}{{/stampSmall}}{{#stampClimate}}{{/stampClimate}}{{#stampPremium}}{{/stampPremium}}{{title}}{{#desc}}{{desc}}{{/desc}}{{#children}}{{title}}{{/children}}{{/items}}Indy100Crosswords & PuzzlesMost CommentedNewslettersAsk Me AnythingVirtual EventsVouchersCompare✕Log inEmail addressPasswordEmail and password don't matchSubmitForgotten your password?New to The Independent?RegisterOr if you would prefer:SIGN IN WITH GOOGLEWant an ad-free experience?View offersThis site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy notice and Terms of service apply jili
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