Dylan Hartley: I’ve lost count of how many hours I’ve spent agonising over how to finally beat South Africa
SunSport columnist and England skipper will use 'every single trick in the book' to end ten years of pain against the Boks
I’VE lost count of how many hours I have spent swotting up on how to beat the Springboks.
On my phone. On my tablet. On the computer. On the TV. It’s non-stop — and it’s because we want this win so badly on Saturday.
Even us senior guys in the squad, with 50-plus caps, have never won against South Africa.
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I’ve never beaten them on home soil or down in the Southern Hemisphere — it’s time to change that.
So we’re using every single minute of every single day and every single trick in the book to end this ten-year run without a win against them.
Once we’re in the camp we’re pretty limited to on-pitch training time, compared to what we can do off it.
So the challenge for the players is to be as best prepared as we can off the field.
Most days this week when I’ve not been training on the pitch, in the gym or recovering, I’ve been in front of a screen logged on and learning.
A click of a button and you’re there with all the key info at your fingertips and in the palm of your hand.
The technology is so advanced these days that I can sit there on my mobile phone and watch clips of the Springboks, or run through some of our own plays and calls.
It’s all about understanding as best we can what they will throw at us.
But also realising you can’t see everything that they are going to do — because every team at Test level is continuously adapting.
The guys in the analysis department probably get the least amount of sleep out of anyone in the whole squad.
They’re some of our unsung heroes, who work around the clock to provide us with vital information building up to the big game.
At the same time, the players have to want to go and do the work.
Because this is not the kind of environment where you can get away with not putting the analysis time in — when we hit the field we need all bases to be covered.
You have to be able to move with the times and react to what the opposition do on the day as well.
But being prepared even for the smallest thing can make a huge difference at Twickenham.
We know South Africa have had a tough year — but none of us are looking at them and seeing these guys as a weak Springboks side.
We’re a team that wants to play with an edge and we will always be up front about it.
Every English pack in history has prided itself on having a solid set-piece — and we are certainly no different.
Physical confrontation comes with that and when I look at South Africa they’re big blokes who pride themselves on big carries, big tackles and big hits.
So if you’re not up for a battle, then they will get to you.
That physical element will ultimately underpin how the game goes so we all have to be right on it.
However we are viewed from the outside — be it complimentary or negatively — we always try to shut it out and focus on what is driving us from within the camp.
Nothing will stand in the way of us trying to rewrite history again.
We must stop Goalden Goose
ENGLAND are on red alert as they get ready to face Johan Goosen’s gigantic boot.
The South African, who is Dan Carter’s kicking buddy at Racing 92 and the Top 14’s Player of the Year, has a a lethal right foot and hammered a 60-metre penalty against Saracens in last season’s European Cup final.
Full-back Goosen, 24, also nailed a 55m drop goal on his Racing debut and is a deadly Springbok marksmen in the mould of Jannie de Beer.
Red Rose Skipper Dylan Hartley said: “You never want to give a kicker a chance at goal and give away three points.
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“In international rugby, anything in the opposition’s half can also end up with a line-out on your five-metre line if they boot it 60m.
“Look at what Ireland did to the All Blacks. They executed it well.
“It’s un-needed pressure and we pride ourselves on discipline and working hard on demanding not to hang around on the floor.”
The good news for England, however, is that while Goosen may be a big hitter for Racing in his domestic games, his international record is not so good.
As the panel above shows, the Springbok has just a 36 per cent success rate for goal-kicking in Tests.