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O'Gara: The call Eddie Jones didn't make that may have cost England RWC
By Ian Cameron
La Rochelle head coach Ronan O'Gara has suggested that Eddie Jones' refusal to bend the rules during the Rugby World Cup final may have cost England the match.
Star tighthead Kyle Sinckler was forced to leave the field with concussion after just three minutes and he was replaced by Leicester's Dan Cole. England then conceded multiple penalties as their scrum was decimated by the Springbok pack.
England went on to lose 32-12 in what was ultimately a convincing win for the South Africans, who deservedly claimed their third Rugby World Cup.
Ex-Ireland flyhalf O'Gara was speaking with Virgin Media Ireland's Nathaniel Cope and gave an insight into his own win at all costs philosophy. The former Munster playmaker said he was left scratching his head at why the England head coach didn't make the call to get Cole off the pitch - by hook or by crook.
"Eddie Jones, if you're in his head, is plotting worst-case scenario probably, Dan Cole comes in and he's in for 77 minutes. You don't have extra legs for him or expertise at tighthead.
"What are you to do?"
"The coach in me was saying, essentially, do you bend the rules and become cynical and make them uncontestable scrums. The game was decided by penalties up front.
"You have to find a way to win no matter what it takes. If you get in trouble, you've got a World Cup winners' medal."
There is certainly no doubt that England's scrum meltdown was the central hinge on which the game swung. Sir Clive Woodward said as much at full time.
Woodward, who guided England to 2003 World Cup success, told ITV: “No doubt, the better team won. At this level of rugby, if you can’t scrum properly, if you’re going to give five or six penalties at your scrum against a team like this, you’re always going to come second.
“England will be bitterly disappointed, to go down 32-12 in a World Cup final. They just couldn’t fire a shot because we couldn’t get first phase ball.”
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Latest Comments
I think the majority of their yellow cards were for cynical infringements instead of repeated infringements.
Go to commentsSpeed of game and stoppages in play remain a problem SK. Set piece oriented teams generally want a lower ball in play time, and they have various strategies to try and get it - legal and illegal!
They want to maximize their power in short bursts, then recover for the next effort. Teams like Bristol are the opposite. They want high ball in play to keep the oppo moving, they want quicker resolution at set pieces, and if anyone is to kick the ball out, they want it to be the other team.
The way rugby is there will always be a place for set piece based teams, but progression in the game is associated far more with the Black Ferns/Bristol style.
The scrum is a crucible. We have still not solved the problem of scrums ending in FKs and penalties, sometimes with yellow cards attached. A penalty ought not to be the aim of a scrum, a dominant SP should lead to greater attacking opportunity as long as the offence is not dangerous but technical in nature.
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