Nick Mallett believes that the English mentality is very different to that of the All Blacks and South Africa when it comes to rugby.
The Springboks are renowned for their intensity and physicality, while New Zealand equally never take a backwards step. But most of all, rugby is a cornerstone of the culture in both countries.
Mallett does not believe that is the case for England who, according to the ex-Boks coach, need to fire themselves up in other ways.
On the recent Boks Office podcast, Springboks legend Jean de Villiers pointed out the difference between the reaction of two big hits during England’s recent clash with the All Blacks at Twickenham.
The difference
“We saw Chandler Cunningham-South, he made one big hit on Tupou Vaa’i and he kind of celebrated as if they won the game,” De Villiers said.
“Patrick Tuipulotu, there was a massive hit on [George] Furbank and he just got back up and got in the line.
“Is that almost the difference between the two? We saw the haka and both teams coming closer but, when you do that, you need to back it up with performances, whatever you do.
“It’s the first time I’ve actually seen the All Blacks responding in a different way, where they actually went forward, but during the game itself, you need to forget about that stuff and you need to stay in the moment, and don’t worry about the outside stuff.
“Was that the difference at the end, or the culture?”
Mallett’s view
Mallett then weighed in on the subject, claiming that the physicality and intensity is “innate” for the All Blacks and Springboks and not for England.
Steve Borthwick’s men have been criticised for their excessive celebrations but the 68-year-old offered a theory as to why they do it.
“For the All Blacks, it matters, it really, really matters. For England, they want it to matter, you see the guys are pushing themselves to try and get to the level of intensity that is required to beat them,” he said.
“We have it because it’s innate in our South African culture, as it is in New Zealand’s. For them, not quite, they need to high five whenever they do something physical.”
England succumbed to the All Blacks 24-22 last weekend and will look to bounce back against the Wallabies before they take on the Springboks in a huge clash at Twickenham.
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Nick Mallett believes that the English mentality is very different to that of the All Blacks and South Africa when it comes to rugby.
The Springboks are renowned for their intensity and physicality, while New Zealand equally never take a backwards step. But most of all, rugby is a cornerstone of the culture in both countries.
Mallett does not believe that is the case for England who, according to the ex-Boks coach, need to fire themselves up in other ways.
On the recent Boks Office podcast, Springboks legend Jean de Villiers pointed out the difference between the reaction of two big hits during England’s recent clash with the All Blacks at Twickenham.
The difference
“We saw Chandler Cunningham-South, he made one big hit on Tupou Vaa’i and he kind of celebrated as if they won the game,” De Villiers said.
“Patrick Tuipulotu, there was a massive hit on [George] Furbank and he just got back up and got in the line.
“Is that almost the difference between the two? We saw the haka and both teams coming closer but, when you do that, you need to back it up with performances, whatever you do.
“It’s the first time I’ve actually seen the All Blacks responding in a different way, where they actually went forward, but during the game itself, you need to forget about that stuff and you need to stay in the moment, and don’t worry about the outside stuff.
“Was that the difference at the end, or the culture?”
Mallett’s view
Mallett then weighed in on the subject, claiming that the physicality and intensity is “innate” for the All Blacks and Springboks and not for England.
Steve Borthwick’s men have been criticised for their excessive celebrations but the 68-year-old offered a theory as to why they do it.
“For the All Blacks, it matters, it really, really matters. For England, they want it to matter, you see the guys are pushing themselves to try and get to the level of intensity that is required to beat them,” he said.
“We have it because it’s innate in our South African culture, as it is in New Zealand’s. For them, not quite, they need to high five whenever they do something physical.”
England succumbed to the All Blacks 24-22 last weekend and will look to bounce back against the Wallabies before they take on the Springboks in a huge clash at Twickenham.