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'You never mention the word risk' - England backline ready for All Blacks
By PA
George Furbank insists England will hunt for opportunities against New Zealand in Dunedin on Saturday as they look to continue sharpening their attack.
Steve Borthwick’s tourists followed a rousing end to the Six Nations against heavyweights Ireland and France by plundering eight tries in their summer opener against Japan.
World Cup runners-up New Zealand will provide a sterner test than anything faced so far this year, but Furbank insists England must retain the courage to play they discovered during the Championship.
“There’s definitely a sense of seeing opportunities and then backing ourselves to take them,” Furbank told reporters in Auckland.
“We’ve got a very exciting young backline who want to be able to do that and the coaches have fully bought into that as well.
“We’ve got some very good and accurate kickers and some wingers who are pretty happy going and getting the ball back in the air. That’s a big strength of ours that’s clear to see.
“We’ve added some really good layers on to our attack as well. We’ve got a better understanding now as a group of where we want our attack to go and what we want our attack to look like.”
England sprang a surprise a fortnight ago by naming their team to face Japan 48 hours early – and Borthwick could take the same bold approach in the build up to the first of two Tests against the All Blacks.
While players appreciate knowing earlier in the week where they stand with selection, the move was also seen as a sign of Borthwick’s growing authority in his role as head coach as a well as a tactic to minimise mind games from Japan boss Eddie Jones.
Changes are expected to be kept to a minimum following that 52-17 win, with Marcus Smith continuing at fly-half and while the Harlequins playmaker will oversee the attack, he is likely to be operating amid a core of Northampton’s Gallagher Premiership champions in Furbank, Alex Mitchell and Tommy Freeman.
The trio have helped energise England with the ball in hand and in an irony for New Zealand, it is one of their own who inspired the Saints trio after Chris Boyd spent four years as director of rugby at Franklin’s Gardens until 2022.
“It was about playing to space. You never mention the word risk with him,” Furbank said of the 65-year-old former Hurricanes boss who transformed Northampton’s playing style.
“It was always a decision and if you’re making the right decision, whether that be on your own try-line or the opposition try-line, he’s going to back you to do that. It’s about seeing that decision in the first place and backing yourself to execute it.
“He gave us a sense of freedom to go and play. Some coaches potentially make you worried about making mistakes, whereas this was a new philosophy and one that helped the young guys coming through.
“The All Blacks are happy to go from anywhere on the pitch. If they see an opportunity they’re going to back themselves and I’ve been lucky enough to play at a club that has implemented a similar sort of thing.”
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Latest Comments
It's people like Donald who lives in the past that is holding NZ rugby back. The game has evolved, and so has the rules, the strategies and most importantly, time don't stand still. Time never stops. Either you move with it or you fall behind.
Look at SA. They were in a slump. Their best players played in leagues around the world because there was just no money or future in SA for them. Fast forward and in came Rassie. Leading from the front, he managed to get the changes he needed to affect change, a change that rocked the rugby world and now in 2024 have a team that is double WC champs. Not with players that played in SA, but with players playing their rugby in various leagues across the world.
Rugby was a dying brand, but he blew life into it being innovative, moving with the times and taking advantage of it. These same heroes are revered, plying their trade in SA or elsewhere. Every youngster have their heroes and they follow them regardless of where they are. Every kid wants to be a Bok. With all these successes, money started flowing in and the heroes started coming back to SA. Suddenly there was money in the sport again in the country.
Rassie's impact stretches far beyond just being a successful WC coach. He changed the sport forever in the country, and it's brought forth a wave of talent, the likes such as other countries can only dream off. A whole new generation of superstars are born, because these kids all want to play rugby and all of them wants to be Boks.
For years to come because of the eligibility rules being side swiped, the Boks will mostly rule the rugby world and until countries drop old foolish habits like their eligibility rules that limits them profusely, they will be stuck at the bottom, staring up at the stars they will never be able to reach. Not because they are not talented, but because they don't have the best available.
So yes, let's not sugarcoat it. Losing eligibility rules is a must for future success to growing the game in your own country. By limiting a players abilities to earn and learn from other leagues will destroy the game in your country. It's a slow poison administration that is effectively poisoning the sport in the country.
Do not cry when your team is subpar filled with amateur players trying to win against an international team like the Boks. The Boks doesn't stay stagnant with strategies that won them 2 WC's, they keep evolving. Rassie does not mind players going and playing in leagues across the world because they spend the money in evolving those players to future stars, money SARU saves and can reinvest in the school, university and club rugby, thus saving hundreds of millions. Young stars that can light up the world stage, already known by other fans and ready to switch and light up the World stage and bring more glory to their country, even though they are not playing in the country.
Fools like Donald is chasing fools gold and is strangling NZ rugby and is stopping them from evolving. Others will follow SA, seeing how they keep evolving and keep getting stronger, with a pool of stars getting bigger and bigger, where they can start to choose more and more teams that could compete and beat the best, even though they are seen as the 3rd or 4th or 5th stringers in SA. The Boks can put out at least 3 teams that can beat any team in the world and all 3 would be top 10 in the world. That is not bragging, just mere facts.
Go to commentsA refreshingly accurate player rating article, would have had Baxter a bit higher but otherwise seems about right given the amount of game time and impact each player had.
Sad thing is come the six nations we will still see Slade and Ford eating up minutes regardless of club form as Borthwick has proved he has a devil you know attitude and is unwilling to take risks
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