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Fri 23 Nov 2012 | 12:45
O2 Inside Line: Episode 3, Season 3

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Comments

In this week's O2 Inside Line we get a look within the confines of the England camp as they build towards their big game against South Africa on Saturday. We also find out some interesting stats about Twickenham and how the field is maintained.

Rain is expected for this weekend's game so it may not be pretty, but we can expect a typically fierce battle up front as England aim to beat South Africa for the first time in ten attempts. The last time England beat them was in November 2006.

Things didn't go to plan for the home side last weekend as the Wallabies lifted their game, so a win would be crucial for confidence and team morale ahead of their meeting with the All Blacks a week later, and then with preparations for the Six Nations.

In this episode of O2 Inside Line there's the usual banter between the players, some analysis of the key breakdown area, and a look at how the 10 000 sq ft Twickenham is maintained.

Saturday, 24 November, Twickenham, Kick off 14:30 GMT

England team:
15 Alex Goode, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 Mike Brown, 10 Toby Flood, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Ben Morgan, 7 Chris Robshaw (c), 6 Tom Wood, 5 Geoff Parling, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Tom Youngs, 1 Alex Corbisiero.
Replacements: 16 David Paice, 17 David Wilson, 18 Mako Vunipola, 19 Mouritz Botha, 20 James Haskell, 21 Danny Care, 22 Owen Farrell, 23 Jonathan Joseph.

Springboks:
15 Zane Kirchner, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Jean de Villiers (c), 11 Francois Hougaard, 10 Pat Lambie, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Juandre Kruger, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Gurthro Steenkamp.
Replacements: 16 Schalk Brits, 17 Heinke van der Merwe, 18 Pat Cilliers, 19 Flip van der Merwe, 20 Marcell Coetzee, 21 Elton Jantjies, 22 Jaco Taute, 23 Lwazi Mvovo.

To get the inside scoop on the England squad every week of the QBE Internationals, as well as fun features and team chat, sign up for alerts and watch O2 Inside Line on RFU TV at O2InsideLine.com

Posted By: Grant Constable

2 Comments

  • 4:03 PM 24/11/2012

    As in most times, I have to agree with stroudos. I can't really see what's so wrong with these boys relaxing between training sessions, or why would you call them footballers with no camaraderie. Honestly, if anything they seem contrived by being on camera and with this appealing woman conducting the proceedings. Think about your trips with your rugby team, or when you go out at night. I think most of us would have a couple of stories of "midget-tossing-in-new-zealand" level. Even knowing they are professionals, they remain human. They have an extremelly demanding job in terms of physical and even mental stress, coupled with a huge pressure to perform individually and collectively. At the end of the day they are entitled to blow off some steam, provided they keep a notion of decency. Despite all the problems they had, I thought the RWC edition of Inside Line was brilliant. Full of banter, some comedy bits, camaraderie, as you say (no better teambuilding than almost crapping your pants in this huge bungee jump or in a vintage car trip). I have to agree that Heally was better as a better option. He knows how a team works, the players respect him and he himself is a cheeky bastard. Also, even if not at a conscious level, the fact that Healy is a guy and that Layla is a girl causes huge changes in attitude from the players and how relaxed they are during the "proceedings"

  • stroudos
    11:06 AM 24/11/2012

    Dear Mr Wilso,
    Here's some feedback from one pommy cunt for you.

    The videos are a nice way of trying to show the real-life human side of the players, (quite the opposite of idolising). I think most fans like the idea of "behind-the-scenes" access - unfortunately I think this series in particular seems a bit contrived and staged.

    The earlier ones with Austin Healey were better - not sure if that's because he's an ex-player and has more of a natural connection with the players or more to do with his spiky banter style. You can't really expect Layla here to wind the players up in the same way.

    The other thing is I suppose we want to see the players off-duty as hilarious comedians, but the fact is they're all normal people (as you'd expect) - some are funny, some are dull. On the old ones, Haskell-cam was usually the best bit, because The Brand himself is a funny fucker and because the other players seemed a lot more relaxed - it was genuine "behind-the-scenes" stuff.

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