The first of the Autumn Internationals for England is this weekend and with six changes to their previous first-choice 15, and three players potentially making their debut of the bench, this is something of a new-look side. Or rather old-look, as (Daly aside) this starting 15 is certainly reminiscent of the side Stuart Lancaster fielded as his first-choice team.

It’s been mentioned to death, but England have not beaten South Africa in 10 years. This is certainly England’s best opportunity for a long time as the Springboks are in a real state of flux,with South Africa’s lack of a clear game plan and confusion over their best team compounding matters. That said, England are missing some of their key performers from the last 12 months, to the point they are fielding their sixth-choice openside in Tom Wood.

For me there are three key areas that England need to address if they are going to beat an extremely physical, but struggling, South African side.

Defence

Paul Gustard did an excellent job with the England defence when he came in; England only conceded four tries in the Six Nations and there is that unbelievable 22-phase period of defence in the second Australia test still fresh in the mind. However, England did leak a worrying 10 tries during their summer series victory.

This glut of tries against them could be attributed to much more dangerous opposition in Australia (no offence to the other Six Nations’ teams) or a more freeform attacking style which intrinsically carries risks (they scored nine against Australia). However, it is clearly a concern as Jason Ryles, the Australian rugby league coach, has been brought in for two weeks to freshen up their approach.

England are also fielding new players who have not had a lot of experience playing together, particularly out wide where defensive organisation is so critical: Daly at 13, May and Yarde on the wings. It is interesting Jones felt confident to make an unforced change at 13 (Joseph’s groin strain aside) when he already had two new faces on the wing.

England need to be miserly with their defence this series. If they give teams like South Africa easy points, they have the physicality to strangle the life out of the game. Give nothing away for free, make them work for every point, as when a side is trying to ‘force it’ is when they will make mistakes. With this amount of pace in the backline, England can be lethal on the counter. Gustard has said ‘a wave of white, noisy, abrasive, brutal, relentless, unforgiving, in-your-face’ awaits South Africa. Here’s hoping.

Breakdown

England have actually been very good here recently, having benefitted this season from a tweak to refereeing which penalises players for going off their feet when at a breakdown – preventing the limpet-like clamp over the ball that guys like David Pocock were so good at. This really suits a team which uses a very quick and powerful clear out at the ruck, something Haskell, Itoje and Kruis excel at.

However, those players are not there this series. Instead we have Wood, Launchbury and Lawes – who for all their qualities were guilty during Lancaster’s tenancy of at times not dominating the contact area to the same extent. We know England do not have a traditional openside and Lancaster tried to cobble one together out of players like Robshaw and Wood. Eddie Jones’ masterstroke was realising he cannot make what he does not have, instead adapting his game plan for the players he did have: i.e. go out and just smash the contact area.

England cannot afford to regress here. Hit the breakdown hard and fast and clear out the opposition. Last weekend, Wales showed exactly what happens if you do not do that.

Quick ball

Linked to the point above: England need more quick ball. Quick ball prevents defences realigning, opens up holes and this is when England will score. There are two parts to this: quick ball from the breakdown, and quick ball from set piece.

Ben Youngs is crucial for the former. If England’s forwards do their job at the breakdown and smash South Africa back, Ben Youngs should have clean ball every time. He needs to move it quickly. Too often he gets caught in half a mind about what to do and slows the ball up, by which point the attacking momentum is lost. England have dangerous outside backs. Youngs need to get the ball into the hands of his playmakers so they can release them. That’s not to say he should never attack – Youngs is a dangerous runner in his own right and needs to threaten the fringes to keep the defence honest. However, he needs to make his decisions quicker.

Another of Eddie Jones’ teams, Japan, showed just how dangerous a side can be playing South Africa when they have quick ball from set piece. Japan knew they couldn’t compete in the same way at the set piece – so they hooked the ball at the scrum and relied on speed at the lineout to get the ball in and out in record time.

Northern hemisphere sides are often guilty of looking at the scrum as just a penalty machine, instead England need to look at their set pieces as a brilliant attacking opportunity. This is even more important given England’s relatively small backline. They are not going to smash through the Springbok defence. The set piece is one of the few occasions where the opposition has to give ground when forming their defensive line, giving the attacking team far more space and time, something that England’s twin playmakers can exploit to maximise the pace of Daly, May and Yarde.

Where do you think tomorrow’s game will be won and lost?

By Henry Ker

Photo by: Patrick Khachfe / Onside Images