"Most physical side I ever played against" – Lawrence Dallaglio: Former England captain warns Borthwick's team to be ready for South Africa

11/12/2024 08:32 AM

England are setting out to turn their Autumn Nations Series around, after two losses so far in their November campaign. Steve Borthwick’s side are looking to recover from two excruciating defeats to New Zealand and Australia, with their sights set on the Springboks and a return to winning form.

However, such is far easier said than done, with the back-to-back World Champions in an impressive run of form ahead of this Saturday’s clash at the Allianz Stadium. South Africa triumphed against the All Blacks, Wallabies and Argentina for the Rugby Championship title in recent months, and rolled this momentum into the Autumn with an opening win against Scotland up in Edinburgh.

One man who is well vested in battles with the Boks is Lawrence Dallaglio, and the 2003 Rugby World Cup winner laid out his expectations of Rassie Erasmaus’ side ahead of this Saturday’s seismic encounter. Dallaglio believes that England are in for a double header on the defensive foot, with South Africa set to call upon their brutish heavy hitters, as well as utilise their astute game managers to orchestrate the attack at a breathtaking pace. Speaking at a recent Premier Sports media event in London, Dallaglio said;

“Listen, they are the world champions and therefore they consistently deliver over a period of time, and they bring a very tough mentality. Physically, the most physical side I ever played against, in my mind. It certainly was when I played, I don’t think a lot has changed.”

“The guy that did the (medical) stitching, Bill Treadwell, former hooker for England, he had all the more cotton for England versus South Africa than any game. So I would imagine that that’s just to same the world over, for the guys doing the stitching.

“They used to be very much around the bludgeon and running over the top of you and physically intimidating you. But I think, what Rassie (Erasmus – Springboks head coach) has brought in the quality of their playing group, is that there’s now an intelligence around the way that they play.

“They’re smart, they’re not just about big, physical guys that can intimidate and bully you. They are that already, and you still have to deal with that, and you have to survive the scrum, and they’ve got the bomb squad, etc. They’re still a very, very physical side, but equally, I think they play much faster now.”

Siya Kolisi is expected to captain the titanic Springboks ship, which has its coordinates set for South West London. The back row missed out on the opportunity to play at the home of English Rugby this past June, as South Africa dismantled Wales in a one sided Summer Series clash. Kolisi was tied up with Racing 92 commitments at the time, but is now back playing for a South African club after moving back home to the Sharks in the seasonal transfer window.

Dallaglio believes that Kolisi embodies everything that South Africa stands for, with there being no better man to wear the armband for the on-field campaigns of the Rainbow Nation. Kolisi is one of just two men that have won back-to-back Rugby World Cups, as along with former All Black Richie McCaw, Kolisi is carving a legacy that in Dallaglio’s eyes has transcended sport, and has made his Springboks the dominant world force in the process. .

“In (Siya) Kolisi, I think you have a player who is able to maybe (lead) the same way as (Francois) Pinaar was before. If you said to me 30 years ago, ‘a black man is going to captain South Africa’, I don’t know if any of us would have thought that. He’s got that ability to bring all of South Africa together in a way that no other can.

“That makes them even more powerful because they’ve got this emotional narrative, now. I mean talent and ability and physical size wise, there’s no question that they’re always going to be competitive. I think what they now have is a group that really is united, a coaching group and playing group.”

“When I was England captain, I used to talk about playing for my country, but, really I was playing to about eight million people who watched rugby, maybe six million for only two games a year. When he (Kolisi) talks about uniting the country, I think he’s talking about the whole country, and I think that becomes a much more powerful thing to beat than any other country. So, the rest the world has got a bit of catching up to do with South Africa They’re obviously beatable, but I think that they’re always going to be very, very competitive.”

If the past two weekends of England’s Autumn Nations Series have taught the rugby world anything, it is that the Test match stage continues to be decided by the narrowest of margins. It was just the width of the post which decided England’s opening round defeat against the All Blacks, as George Ford missed the winning drop goal that would have sealed the victory, in the dying embers of the match.

It was a similar story against the Wallabies this past Saturday, as after clawing themselves in front with a minute left on the clock, England capitulated and opened the door for Australia’s try in the last play of the match. Dallaglio recognised how South Africa are the masters of the fine margin victories, as he reviewed their latest Rugby World Cup campaign as the perfect example.

“South Africa won a World Cup by winning every single game by one point. All the other teams in the competition who had a credible chance of winning, could point to moments in games where they probably made mistakes.

“Ireland in the group stages, probably fortunately (for South Africa). Because they might have kicked a few more penalties, they could have easily beaten the All Blacks (in the quarter-final) if they had kicked in the first half.

“I mean, the game of international rugby is still about the fined margins and the moments, and I think South Africa certainly don’t waste any time, they know when to get the job done. So look, they are beatable, there’s no doubt, but you’ve got to play exceptionally well, and you’ve got to take points when they’re an offer against those sides.”

Dallaglio then expressed how the Springboks have long been England’s nemesis on the Test match stage. Dating back to the 1999 Rugby World Cup quarter final defeat, England have since endured the heartbreak of the 2007 and 2019 Rugby World Cup Finals, and the latest World Cup semi-final exit at the hands of the Springboks.

The former back row believes that if England want to stand a chance of writing a new chapter in their storied rivalry, then Steve Borthwick’s side must hit the heights which they achieved in the 2024 Six Nations against Ireland. It was a euphoric moment as Marcus Smith slotted the match winning drop goal against Andy Farrell’s side, and regardless of George Ford’s missed effort at the uprights, Dallaglio doesn’t think England have hit their same stride in their recent Autumn Tests.

“They’ve (South Africa) been England’s nemesis for a long time, but there were moments in games and England have been very close. They made some substitutions, had we not given away four scrum penalties in the last 10 minutes, maybe it’s a different result.

“Over the margins, now, England have got to be able to contend with that bomb squad and make the right substitutions at the right time. I’m disappointed that they didn’t win against the All Blacks, because I think it would have given them that kind of momentum. I think the Ireland game (2024 Six Nations) is a turning point to me, personally, this team under Steve Borthwick, if that’s the level that England can reach, then that’s the benchmark for which they have to measure themselves now.

“I think against the All Blacks, they weren’t at that level, just. If they hit that level then they can be competitive. They’ve only beaten teams ranked above them twice since Steve’s taken over. And so they need to measure themselves against the best, and at the moment, I look at the last 15 games, I’m encouraged. I wrote a very positive piece on the beginning of the Autumn, because I think there’s been a shift in the mentality.

“Whatever happened up in York (England camp during 2024 Six Nations), between the Scotland and the Ireland game, I think has made a significant difference to the England team. The annoying thing is, if you look at England’s last, say, 15, 16, games. I think the ones they’ve lost, they lost by one score. They need to become a team that know how to get the job done in the last 10 or 15 minutes.”

Lawrence Dallagio is part of the Premier Sports TV team broadcasting every game live in the new season of Investec Champions Cup (www.premiersports.com) which kicks off on 6 December 2024.  Lawrence joins a strong line-up of TV pundits for the new season of Champions and Challenge Cup action on Premier Sports including Simon Zebo, Chris Robshaw, Natasha 'Mo' Hunt, Stephen Ferris, Topsy Ojo, Andrew Trimble, Rob Kearney, Andy Goode, Ian Madigan, John Barclay, Matt Banahan, Tom Shanklin, Chris Paterson, Ryan Wilson and Shane Williams.

Dallaglio will also be broadcasting all the pre-match action live at the Twickenham Stoop this Sunday, as Premier Sports gets set to air the England A fixture against Australia A. Be sure to witness the next generation of England stars take centre stage, as they battle it out with the emerging Wallabies direct from the home of the Harlequins, with coverage starting at 13:45.

The post “Most physical side I ever played against” – Lawrence Dallaglio: Former England captain warns Borthwick’s team to be ready for South Africa appeared first on Ruck.