Whisper it, but I believe England can defeat the Springboks, provided they don’t let Rassie Erasmus set the schedule for this week.
My advise to Steve Borthwick would be to make sure he gets on the front foot and counteracts any dark arts because I have experience competing against South Africa’s director of rugby.
By predicting on Tuesday who he believes Borthwick’s team will be for the semi-finals, Rassie has already tried to gain an advantage psychologically and plant doubt in the minds of his opponents.
In order to stand a chance against the Springboks, you must make an effort to not only match them physically but also tactically and mentally.
So this week will be important for Steve to both send out messages to his players about how he wants them to play, what they are expecting from the Springboks and what areas they have been working hard on to negate the opposition.
To emphasize areas of concern from the perspective of the referee, issues can also be brought up subtly. As an illustration, if I were Steve, I may inquire about how many head injury exams South Africa requested during their victory over France.
I don’t doubt their legitimacy, but there have been some rumors about them, and if I were to bring it up, I would emphasize how out of the ordinary it appeared and raise concerns about the process.
Rassie is quite skilled at delivering remarks that are both complimentary and that also raise a point or message that he wants to get through. He has already made fun of France during this World Cup by claiming that their players practice simulation.
I used to believe that I got along with him very well. We went out for beers together following Wales’ first game under his leadership, against South Africa, in June 2018 in Washington.
And in 2019, after they defeated us in the World Cup semifinal in Japan, I walked inside their locker room to congratulate him and his team on their victory and wish them luck in the championship match.
But after the Lions tour, everything was different. I suppose that when it comes to the Lions, I am a bit of a romantic.
I see it as a time to celebrate rugby, to allow the game speak for itself and to engage the crowd. Due to the Covid epidemic, we didn’t have any fans on the tour of 2021, and in light of the situation, I felt the more strongly that it was our duty to make it a trip that glorified rugby and gave people something to cheer about at home.
But just as I had found in New Zealand in 2017, the attitude in South Africa was instead one of win-at-all-costs, with the end justifying any means. I think we need to be mindful of that going forward and make sure that we keep the integrity of rugby at the forefront.
First we had the issue of Rassie acting as a water boy during the games and delivering messages to his players. I made the quip that if he was going to act as a ‘water boy’, maybe he should at least have some water in his bottle.
It eventually led to World Rugby to change the laws the following year to ban coaching staff from entering the pitch as water carriers.
Despite that, we continued to have an issue with messages coming onto the pitch during live play via their physio.
The two coaching boxes in the stadium were quite close so we could actually hear all the stuff that was going on and the flow of information that was going onto the pitch.
There was one period during the Test series when she was about three metres behind the goal line following the play and screaming and yelling at players on their defence.
Medics are not allowed in the dead-ball area, they are supposed to just move up and down the touchline, to allow them to respond quickly to any injuries.
They are certainly not meant to be standing behind play or encroaching onto the field of play with the sole reason of passing on messages from the coaching team. I just don’t see it as an acceptable part of the game.
If I was Steve this week, I would be asking how that is going to be properly managed. We all use messages through our support staff during breaks in play, but it is different when those messages are being screamed out during live play.
Worst of all was his excoriating video analysis of the officiating during our victory in the first Test, which was supposedly leaked. I have no doubt in my mind that the video had an influence on the officiating in the remainder of the series.
To be fair, Rassie came up to me before our match against South Africa in Cardiff and apologised for what had gone on during the Lions series.
I just thanked him. We didn’t chat for long, but I appreciated what he said. I think on reflection he realised he had been over the top during the tour.
Yet South Africa are still constantly pushing the boundaries within the laws of the game. We have seen them pick a 7/1 split of forwards and backs on the bench. There is nothing against the laws of the game, even though people might disagree with that. They are always looking for an edge for the best interests of their team. And if it is not, it is not.
Who knows what will happen this week, but I expect the Springboks will have a nagging concern that England have reached the semi-finals completely under the radar and without the mental and physically draining tests they have experienced against Ireland and France.
In my experience of playing against South Africa, you’ve got to match them in the areas that they are going to target, rather than try to play too much rugby. If you can make it an arm wrestle, as we did against them in the semi-final four years ago, you can stay in the game long enough to put them under pressure. England made the mistake in the final four years ago of attempting to play too much, but they are a smarter team now.
Additionally, they have players who are very experienced and who, in my opinion, have a few huge games left in them. The fact that they will be playing the Boks won’t intimidate guys like Owen Farrell.
Getting through the pool stages may not have been at their peak, but I believe the bigger games will bring forth their finest performance. They are also physically strong enough to face the Springboks in set pieces and with their kicking.
I believe England put on a strong showing despite the apparent expectation that South Africa will win the match handily.
