The View from Japan: Majestic England march on and the Springboks win tug-of-war

This weekend marked a changing of the guard as England dethroned the back-to-back World Cup winning All Blacks in style, while the Springboks edged a battered and bruised Wales.

Eddie Jones’ meticulous planning came together beautifully as his younger and hungrier England team exposed an ageing All Blacks. Quicker to the loose balls, ferocious at the breakdown and clinical in open play, England were rampant from the first whistle.

The All Blacks looked uncharacteristically sluggish and took much of the first half to get to grips with the English intensity. England never took its foot off the gas, suffocating New Zealand at every opportunity. Barring the one mistake that gifted New Zealand their try, England was flawless.

New Zealand have been at the top of world rugby for nigh on a decade, but all streaks must come to an end. The All Blacks will remain the international standard bearers, but come next Saturday, a new name will be carved into the William Webb Ellis Cup.

Fighting England for that honour will be the nation that vanquished them in the 2007 final, the Springboks. In an attritional tug-of-war, Wales and South Africa matched each other step for step, but when the clock stopped it was South Africa who had the three-point advantage.

The first half was dominated by aerial ping-pong as each side tried to keep the ball in their opponent’s half and profit off the errors. Handré Pollard and Dan Biggar traded penalties and when Damian De Allende went over for the first try, Wales hit straight back through Josh Adams.

In a tense final 10 minutes, it was the Springboks who executed better. They defended tirelessly and eventually earned a penalty which Pollard drove straight between the uprights. The see-saw battle ended the Welsh dream but the South African team returns next week for the game of their lives.