Since the end of their draining victory over Fiji, Steve Borthwick has certainly been thinking about the question: how do you go about charging up England to meet the might of South Africa? Il est indéniable que la semaine finale apportera une qualité supérieure à tout ce que son équipe an affronté en France jusqu’à présent.
Two of England’s most damaging days in recent history have come against the Springboks. The Cup final in 2019 is clearly on the mind this week, but the Twickenham drubbing last November that led to Jones’s defenestration is still raw. No matter what underdog, backs-against-the-wall spirit the squad might be able to conjure, there will be a need to fight any potential fear factor.On Sunday evening, defense coach Kevin Sinfield admitted that he was “in awe” of the physicality that South Africa produced to pip France in Paris. Sinfield a déclaré à propos des Springboks : « Il n’y a pas beaucoup de faiblesses là-bas. » Nous sommes conscients que ce groupe est extrêmement intelligent, qu’ils ont été particulièrement bien entraînés et qu’ils sont complètement en dehors des lois. Ils comprennent toutes les subtilités et nous devons nous préparer à tout ce qui se produira samedi soir.

Avant le premier match des British & Irish Lions à l’encontre de l’Afrique du Sud en 1997, l’assistant coach Jim Telfer a suscité l’intérêt des visiteurs grâce à une adresse enthousiaste dans la salle de entraînement avant le match. The speech “This is your Everest” has become a part of sporting folklore, an example of how the right messages and style can lift.

Is this a time for something similar? England doesn’t necessarily have a great orator in their coaching staff. Sinfield affirme que le jeu a changé et que les communicateurs plus silencieux d’Angleterre maintiennent leurs méthodes. Sinfield an expliqué : “It’s probably more subtle than that and understanding that leadership has probably changed.” Cette génération est unique.

Le leader chrétien majeur est parti. Ils existent, mais ils sont très rares. As coaches, we are all different, and I have talked about our leadership group before. I am aware that you have spent a certain amount of time with Wiggy, Tommy Harrison, and Steve, and it is likely to come across in a different way.

Nous avons tous nos propres méthodes d’influence et de soutien. Il n’y a pas eu de discours Churchillian jusqu’à présent.

“You know what buttons to push, what influence you can have, and how you can support and help those who need it because you’ve had the privilege of working with these guys for a while.”

Throughout a large portion of his playing career, Sinfield attempted—and failed—to overcome England and Australia in order to get to the Rugby League World Cup. Although the code the league icon currently calls home doesn’t reflect the Kangaroos’ dominance, there’s a good probability that the 10th men’s World Cup will conclude with a ninth celebration south of the equator given France and Ireland’s close losses on quarterfinal weekend.

It’s not as though Sinfield or anybody else in England’s camp will be intimidated by the task at hand. The only team still undefeated in the competition is England, despite the team describing their run to the last four as flawed. How much bigger have they become since then? They’ll find out in a test against the Springboks.
When asked if the England team would have been afraid of the job before of them at the beginning of the competition, Sinfield responded, “I’m not sure we would have feared it a month ago.” In actuality, it could have been just what we needed at the moment—an opposition that presented a distinct challenge to us. It may have been beneficial.

“But we are really looking forward to this and I think you’re right. We are talking about different personalities and characters in the group; some will absolutely thrive on the fact that we are coming up against the best team in the world at the weekend.

“I am certainly not overwhelmed. I understand the challenge in front of us. But I don’t mind being backed into a corner, don’t mind being written off, don’t mind being slammed, don’t mind being in the thick of pretty tough circumstances.

“Rewind eight weeks and it was pretty grim for us, at the end of August. We want them to absolutely rip into it on Saturday night and give it everything you’ve got, otherwise, you end up with a load of regrets for the rest of your life.”