In a recent discussion on "Talking Boks with Brendan Nel," former South Africa coach Nick Mallett critiqued England's strategy in their Nations Championship defeat to South Africa in Johannesburg. Mallett particularly questioned the decision by England's coach Steve Borthwick to use Henry Pollock as a substitute rather than a starter, a move he believes contributed to England’s 45-21 loss.
Mallett praised Pollock, the vibrant 21-year-old who earned his 11th Test cap, for his undeniable talent, highlighted by a two-try debut against Wales in March 2025. Despite this, Pollock has rarely started, a decision Mallett finds puzzling. "I would have started Pollock," Mallett said. "He is a fantastic rugby player, and you start the guy and don’t worry about all the media pressure."
"It’s like saying Sacha, we’ll bring him on with 20 minutes to go to protect him. That’s nonsense. You want to get him out there and give him the best opportunity to show what he can do."
Despite his critique of the selection strategy, Mallett acknowledged England's spirited comeback from a 17-0 deficit to a narrow three-point lag at halftime. He commended the team's overall performance, emphasizing their potential when in possession. "They went into this game with a decent chance, but they had a poor start to quickly go three tries down. But to get it back to 17-14 at half-time, when they had the ball and held onto it, they were dangerous,” Mallett reflected.
On the opposing side, Mallett was impressed with the performance of Damian Willemse, suggesting a mix-up in the player of the match decision. "With the greatest respect to (Damian) de Allende, Willemse was the man of the match and I am wondering did they make a simple mistake and they got the wrong Damian in there? Damian Willemse was absolutely brilliant and I can’t see someone not choosing him… he was absolutely outstanding at full back."
The impact of the Springboks' bench was also a highlight for Mallett, praising the energetic contributions from newcomers and their ability to maintain the team's dynamism. "The youngsters did outstandingly. Paul de Villiers, in particular in the first 15 minutes, he won the first penalty for us on the ground, his run off the back of the lineout set up that first try, he and Hanekom drove Thomas du Toit over the line when he scored his try – the immediate support was outstanding there."
The discussion wrapped up with Mallett rating the overall team performance highly and expressing satisfaction with the strategic deployment of the bench players, which he deemed timely and effective in maintaining the momentum against a formidable opponent.