England want all bases covered against 'cunning' Springboks

England want all bases covered against 'cunning' Springboks

England hope to have all bases covered should "cunning" South Africa coach Rassie Erasmus try to spring a tactical surprise in the World Cup final.


Springboks vs England
Photo: AFP England's fly-half Owen Farrell (L) makes a dubious tackle on South Africa's Andre Esterhuizen late in the game which is looked at by officials during the international rugby union test match between England and South Africa at Twickenham.

While England won through to Saturday's showpiece match in Yokohama with a dynamic 19-7 win over New Zealand that ended the All Blacks' eight-year reign as world champions, South Africa ground out a 19-16 semi-final victory over Wales in a turgid set-piece contest dominated by box-kicks.


Nevertheless Jones, who together with England defence coach John Mitchell was among a crowd that saw the Springboks edge out Wales on Sunday, said: "They won a tough semi-final, and when you are in the final of a World Cup you have done a lot of things right.


"They are a massively aggressive physical forward pack, they probably played their stronger team in the second half as opposed to the first. They are going to be a difficult side to beat."


Wales were drawn into a kicking contest but if England can replicate the high-tempo yet physical game that stunned the All Blacks they will pose problems for the Springboks.


ALSO READ: Pollard sees World Cup final 'chess match'


- 'Prepared for the unexpected' -

"We are going to enjoy the preparations this week, getting ourselves right," said Jones, the coach of his native Australia when England beat the Wallabies in the 2003 World Cup final.


"We know a couple of areas that we think we can expose in them and we'll make sure we are well-prepared in those areas," he added. 


"Rassie is a cunning coach, a good coach and has done a great job with the Springboks. We're prepared for the unexpected."


Jones highlighted the skills of South Africa half-backs Faf de Klerk and Handre Pollard as proof of the variety within the Springboks' game.


"They can play in different ways. You saw Faf de Klerk do 15-20 box-kicks in the game but we know Pollard is an excellent kicker.


"The way he goal-kicked was fantastic," said Jones of Pollard's 14-point haul, which included four penalty goals and a conversion. 


"He was smooth, nice touch on the ball and that is a wonderful advantage for them."


But asked during a news conference on Monday if he had taken many notes while watching the match, Jones reverted to typical wise-cracking form.


"I actually forgot my pen last night so I had to go for the high technology, the iPad, which I'm not that flash on. So there wasn't too many notes there."


Saturday's match is a repeat of the 2007 World Cup final when Jones was a consultant to the Springbok side that beat England 15-6 in Paris.


And the England coach said he expected South Africa to utilise their traditional forward strength in the climax of this edition. 


"We know they can play differently and we're aware of that, but we also know that they are going to come through the front door. 


"There are not many Springbok teams that don't come through the front door. So we've got to be ready at the front door and have enough cover at the back door too."

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