Mama Mia, here we go again… Those first words of the Abba song did spring to mind at first sight of the reaction of England’s new coach Steve Borthwick to his team’s opening Six Nations game against Scotland.
The match was at the supposed citadel of English rugby, Twickenham. And England lost. There’s nothing new about that, they lost to the Springboks the last time they played there, as well as Argentina earlier in the autumn. They’ve lost to Scotland there relatively recently, for Saturday’s Scottish triumph completed a hat-trick against the ‘auld enemy’ for them.
But still, you don’t expect England to lose to Scotland at home. And when they do lose to their opponents from the north of the border, you don’t expect their coach to talk about improvements having been made. And yet, in between also making the point that England had absolutely nothing going for them in Eddie Jones’ last days in charge, which really is a mystery to those who know the new Wallaby coach, that is exactly what Borthwick did.
SOUNDED LIKE HIS PREDECESSOR
That made him sound so much like his predecessor. Some of the English rugby writers lapped it up. As they would right now, for they didn’t like Jones, at least not towards the end of his tenure. He was okay when he started, for England, fresh back in 2016 from their implosion in their own World Cup a few months before that, started under Jones like a house on fire.
But while Borthwick will be excused by those who were pleased to see the back of Jones, it will only last so long. If England don’t cook at home against Italy this week, and then lose to Ireland in their next really big game, those who have given Borthwick some leeway, will start turning on him. That is just the nature of the beast. Mama Mia, here we go again…
WE LOVE UNDERDOGS, BUT SCOTS COULD BITE US TOO
No doubt the Scotland win will have been greeted with glee by South Africans. Partly because Scotland are always underdogs in most eyes when they play England, particularly at Twickenham. And everyone loves underdogs. But also because of the England thing. Meaning how much South Africans tend to love seeing England being put in their place on the rugby field.
That glee though should be tempered, for the reality is that with the Springbok Rugby World Cup challenge that gets underway just seven months from now in mind, the first Saturday of the Six Nations should have been a sobering reminder to South Africans that this could be the Boks’ toughest World Cup yet.
As they are in the easier half of the draw, and are only likely to crop up as opponents if they reach the final, which they will only do if Jones’s Wallabies let them, they shouldn’t be concerning the Boks too much right now. There’s a heck of a lot of water that has to flow under the bridge at the World Cup itself before the Boks get to worry about England.
WORLD TOP FOUR ALL LUMPED TOGETHER WITH BOKS
Before that they have to worry about Scotland, Ireland and one of France or New Zealand. Those are their two biggest Pool opponents and their likely quarterfinal opponents. And as of the Scotland win on Saturday, those also just happen to be the other four teams in the current top five of the World Rugby rankings.
Scotland have displaced England at No 5, and the other four are ahead of them. With Ireland still top and France second. There isn’t much separating top ranked Ireland from fourth ranked South Africa. The margin is less than two ranking points. The points are difficult to understand, but some perspective might be given by the fact that fifth placed Scotland are more than five behind the Boks.
What should concern the Boks is that for the first time ever they are in a World Cup Pool that features not one but two other teams in the top five of the rankings. Coach Rassie Erasmus was extremely nervous ahead of his team’s clash with Italy in the last World Cup for fear of the calamity that a Group Stage exit would be, so imagine how he is going to be ahead of the early games in France.
You’d bet good money on South Africa being able to beat Scotland at a neutral venue. But still, if Scotland can win at Twickenham, they can win a one-off against the other top sides. And if they beat the Boks, then it is even more imperative that the Boks beat the world’s current No 1 ranked side.
IRELAND LOOKED LIKE THEY BELONG AT NO 1
Ireland certainly looked the part when they took Wales apart at the Principality Stadium. Perhaps the Welsh fans being denied the chance to sing Delilah with the accompaniment of the official stadium sound system and choir undermined Wales, but even in these dark times, and their game against the All Blacks last year excepted, they are seldom beaten as comprehensively at home as Ireland did them.
The Irish are notorious chokers at World Cups, a bit like the Proteas at a Cricket World Cup, but Andy Farrell’s men do look to have a clinical edge to them these days that they didn’t have in the past. They are going to be hard to beat.
Okay, France looked ordinary before being beaten late by Italy, and that’s something to cling to. But then that’s the French for you. Italy are also more competitive than they were, and France were in fact the only team to win away in the first round. They are hosting the World Cup and will be formidable on home turf.
So overall from a South African perspective the weekend that started the international rugby year should have left us wondering whether to laugh or cry. We will have the answer in September and October.
Weekend Six Nations results
Wales 10 Ireland 34
England 23 Scotland 29
Italy 24 France 29
This coming weekend’s fixtures
Ireland v France (Dublin, Saturday 16.15)
Scotland v Wales (Edinburgh, Saturday 18.45)
England v Italy (London, Sunday 17.00)