Ollie Phillips: All Blacks, Springboks, England and a new dawn
Beating the Springboks turned out to be a step too far for Steve Borthwick’s England despite the level of experience they took into the Rugby World Cup.
But on Saturday, when the Springboks take on New Zealand in the final in Paris, I think the South Africa train will run out of steam.
There’s so much I like about the team; they’re ballsy, brave and not afraid to stick to their own game plan no matter what is happening to the team they are playing.
Sacking off Manie Libbok was a huge call but it paid dividends, as were the decisions to take off the likes of Siya Kolisi and Cobus Reinach.
South Africa have such a great level of depth that they can afford to make such bold calls and still trust their squad to get the job done.
All Blacks and Springboks on roll
England knew that they had to get ahead and hang on. They did, and couldn’t.
But when kick-off comes at the Stade de France on Saturday night I believe it could simply be just one game too far for the Springboks against the All Blacks.
Including their opponents New Zealand, Springboks will have played the other five of the world’s top six at this tournament – an astonishing feat of endurance and resilience.
But the All Blacks got an easy ride last week against an embarrassing Argentina and haven’t had a ferocious match since their quarter-final against Ireland a fortnight ago, so they’re fresher and more relaxed.
Some would argue that this lack of intense preparation could be a major obstacle for the side, but it is more likely that this will be the ideal amalgam for Ian Foster’s men. He could win the World Cup knowing he is out of a job at the end of it. That’s ballsy in itself.
I don’t think it will be a victory by the 38-point margin we saw last Friday, nor do I believe it could be decided by just one point as was the case on Saturday.
But it will be ferocious and unforgiving, a battle of two rugby heavyweights.
And for me it is the All Blacks who will prove victorious in the Parisian suburbs and establish themselves, yet again, as one of the world’s great sporting teams.
A new page
Beyond this weekend there are questions for beaten semi-finalists England, who were outstanding and arguably deserved more than the one-point loss that was imposed upon them.
From Saturday morning England enter their next World Cup cycle, such is the relentlessness of professional sport, but from here on out it is all on Borthwick.
Many have been quick to blame Eddie Jones for the lack of creativity in this side but it must be said that a good performance against the Springboks in atrocious conditions cannot take away from the fact that England have generally been woeful.
The Six Nations is the next time we will see Borthwick’s side after this World Cup and whether he picks a form 23 for their opening match away to Italy or whether he decides to go with a completely fresh outfit remains to be seen.
But what is certain is that we are now officially in the era of Borthwick, where the good, the bad and the ugly are all on his shoulders. And given what I have seen over the last two months, it is not a position I would want to be in.
Former England Sevens captain Ollie Phillips recently swam the English Channel to raise money for Head for Change, a charity aspiring to achieve positive change for brain health in sport. Follow Ollie on Twitter to donate.