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England v South Africa: Hosts still hungry after ending Springbok hoodoo
England v South Africa: Hosts still hungry after ending Springbok hoodoo
By Tom Fordyce
Chief sports writer at Twickenham
- Rugby Union
- 114
There was a time when any sort of victory over South Africa would have been a cause of wild celebration for England. A decade and 12 matches without a win tends to do that.
And so almost the most impressive aspect of this 37-21 victory was not the scoreline, or the four fine tries, or the slaying of the green-shirted bogeymen with the size – if not the skill – of their illustrious forebears, but the collective attitude at the end: this was not enough, we must do more.
Expectations can both make and break a coach. When Stuart Lancaster’s regime ended a year ago it was because his side had built up great optimism over four seasons of hard work but never actually improved. Four second places in the Six Nations, an ignominious exit at the group stage of a World Cup they both hosted and hoped to win.
England’s supporters now both expect and believe in a manner not seen since the crescendo of Sir Clive Woodward’s regime in 2003. A Grand Slam in spring, a whitewash of the Wallabies in summer; autumn arriving with more history being made.
