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England manager Martin Johnson says his players need to be a “bit smarter” if they are to beat South Africa at Twickenham on Saturday in what will be a repeat of last year’s World Cup final.
Last weekend England, in their first major Test under Johnson, were beaten 28-14 by Australia in a match where Matt Giteau kicked six out of seven penalties and Wallaby captain Stirling Mortlock landed a long-distance goal.
Johnson, who captained England to glory in the 2003 World Cup, was left bemoaning how his youthful side had given away so many points.
England know so many ‘needless’ penalties are equally likely to be punished by South Africa, who won the World Cup final 15-6 when they outscored the Red Rose by five penalties to two.
Only four of the England team remain from the side which started that match – wing Paul Sackey, No.8 Nick Easter and props Phil Vickery and Andrew Sheridan – which will be the first meeting between the countries since the Springboks triumphed in Paris.
“The guys have got to be aware that three points against South Africa is a big deal,” Johnson said. “They add up and the World Cup final is a classic example.
“On Saturday we gave away some silly penalties and we were unlucky a few times but as a team we do need to become a bit smarter on the field.
“A lot of that is because we have a new team coming together. That is not an excuse but we have to function better in what we are trying to do.
“To concede 28 points makes it very difficult to win. If we can cut that in half, which I think we can, then you are in a fantastic position to win games.”
Johnson has made one change to the starting team beaten by Australia with James Haskell brought in at blindside flanker in place of Tom Croft in a bid to counter South Africa’s back-row strength.
Meanwhile, on the bench, uncapped Leicester No.8 Jordan Crane comes in for Michael Lipman.
Johnson dismissed remarks from Springbok coach Peter de Villiers, who said he would have difficulty motivating the world champions for their final Test of a gruelling year.
“You would be surprised if South Africa weren’t feeling the effects at this point in their season – but when you get the Saturday afternoon adrenalin, there will be no tiredness,” he said.
“It’s a big thing for opposition teams to come here and win, as you saw with the Australians’ reaction on Saturday.”
England, who’d demolished Australia’s scrum in the World Cup quarter-finals, were frustrated by their failure to establish anything remotely like that degree of domination last weekend.
However Johnson has kept faith with both Sheridan and Vickery, resisting the temptation to start Durban-born Matt Stevens in the front-row and he is expecting a more direct scrum contest this weekend.
“The scrummage never really happened against Australia. Every scrum was on the floor. We lost two balls because we were caught unawares when it didn’t go down. Against South Africa, the scrum will be in the air a lot more.”
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.