I look at this England side and I see so many similarities with the South Africa team who won the World Cup in 2007. It seems like things have come full circle for Eddie Jones because he was a World Cup winner with the Springboks 12 years ago and his England side are following the same blueprint as they look to defeat South Africa on Saturday.
A quick look at the statistics back it up. When South Africa beat England 36-0 in the pool stages in 2007, they made 52 carries compared with England’s 90. They made 40 fewer passes than England and kicked from hand more often. In the final England made 43 more passes, nearly twice the amount of metres, but ended up on the losing side. In that pool match it was a culmination of control and very good defence. When you look at the teams who are in the World Cup final, when you describe their DNAs, it would be defence, set piece and physicality. That was everything that South Africa were in 2007, when Jones was assistant coach, and it is everything in which England pride themselves in 2019.
Written by Ugo Monye
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2019/oct/29/eddie-jones-england-south-africa-world-cup-final-2007 under the title “Eddie Jones takes inspiration from what made South Africa great in 2007 | Ugo Monye”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
