With England’s crunch Rugby World Cup semi-final clash with South Africa finally upon us, Martin Corry has explained how the ‘Red and Whites’ can get the job done.
Having made it all the way to the final in 2007, the sporting legend knows a thing or two about this competition, making his insight of the highest validity. And while many fancy South Africa to get the upper hand, he believes there’s a chink in their armour that Steve Borthwick’s men can expose.
With vengeance on the mind, on Saturday night, England will walk out to the Stade de France in Paris, to play a repeat of the 2019 final. And while they fell short to The Springboks’ on that fateful evening at the International Stadium in Yokohama, Japan, this time, there’s a feeling that things can be different.
With a huge amount of momentum generated from a 30-24 victory over Fiji in the quarter-finals, Corry believes his beloved side has what it takes to upset the applecart. But how will they do it?
Martin Corry gives his breakdown on how England can beat South Africa
In an exclusive interview with Genting Casino, he asserted: “As France showed, because of the way South Africa plays, England will get opportunities. They do make mistakes, and it is how quickly and ruthlessly we can capitalise on them.
“Also, no side has really tried to strangle South Africa. If you go out and try and play rugby against them, on paper, they are the better side. But if you go out to strangle them, not give them front foot ball, broken field situations, areas where they can physically dominate, you have a shot. Don’t give them an opportunity. England need to play their way. The team has had way too much stick on the way they have played the games so far. They are finding their way in terms of what to do to win Test match rugby.”
He continued: “If that means it’s going to be a territory-based game, in which England keep the pressure on constantly, then they can impose themselves and say, ‘We are not going to allow you, South Africa, to play the game you want to. This is the England way and what we do’. It will be really interesting to see how they respond to that.”
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