Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Chandler Cunningham-South have supercharged England

Experience is an asset in Test matches, but you can always shake things up with sheer talent, raw athleticism or a combination of both. Steve Borthwick leant on know-how during last year’s World Cup, yet is now seeking to invigorate England in this next phase of his tenure as head coach.

Chandler Cunningham-South and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, two exciting 21-year-olds who have rocketed into the team from relative obscurity, epitomise that process. And, after impressive individual performances in the win over Japan this weekend, they should be heavily involved against the All Blacks.

This is how Saturday’s game demonstrated the ways in which Cunningham-South and Feyi-Waboso are influencing England, even this early in their careers.

Pushing through a tricky start

Over recent months, at most mentions of two players he has fast-tracked into the Test arena, Borthwick has repeated that he wants Cunningham-South and Feyi-Waboso to represent England for a long time. Such deliberate messaging is designed to assure those rookies that coaches will be patient with them and that inevitable errors will be forgiven as they establish themselves. Cunningham-South endured an inauspicious start, spilling the kick-off backwards before regathering:

And Eddie Jones evidently wanted Japan to flood Feyi-Waboso’s wing to outflank the England blitz. Look where Feyi-Waboso begins here, on the outside of Henry Slade with George Furbank pushing up beyond him:

As we have seen from Willie le Roux and Damian Willemse with South Africa, full-backs are vital to this system because they swing up to make the defensive line wider. Furbank was outstanding in that respect in Tokyo. In this case, Feyi-Waboso darts all the way in towards the ruck as Slade completes the tackle:

England are compromised already. Ollie Lawrence attempts to jackal, but is cleared out rapidly by Warner Dearns. This gives England one fewer defender against a quick ruck and Maro Itoje has already identified the danger on the far side:

Feyi-Waboso and Furbank press again...

...and Seungsin Lee threads through a grubber that is collected by Samisoni Tua. Marcus Smith sweeps around to slow the carrier, with Feyi-Waboso and Lawrence completing the tackle. Scramble is a vital component of blitzing:

Japan move into midfield, and England’s defenders chase the ball…

…isolating Feyi-Waboso when the hosts bounce back towards the far touchline. Feyi-Waboso darts up in a bid to make a man-and-ball tackle or an interception, but is foxed by Naoto Saitō. Only Furbank’s anticipation, which rushes Dearns, causes a poor pass that stalls Japan’s momentum:

England eventually emerge without conceding a point.

Power in contact

Another scrambling tackle from Furbank, this time on Yoshitaka Yazaki, his opposite number, was the catalyst for England to begin exerting pressure themselves. A scrum penalty allowed them to kick to the corner, where a maul launched a try-scoring attack.

Alex Mitchell directs Feyi-Waboso around to the openside…

…and a typically bristling carry sucks in several defenders. Mitchell then snipes against the grain, bringing England in behind Japan:

A phase later, Ben Earl and Cunningham-South are poised. The former glances to the latter as Jamie George picks….

…before Earl’s tip-pass gives Cunningham-South a one-on-one. He surges through, with the help of a Sam Underhill latch, to dot down:

Four minutes later comes another example of strength in the contact area, this time in defence. Note the position of Feyi-Waboso again:

He presses up and Japan’s attack grows disjointed, with a looped pass over the top:

When Furbank makes another tackle, way behind the gain-line, Feyi-Waboso is strong enough to muscle two clearers – Yazaki and openside flanker Tiennan Costley – back over the ball. Sanaila Waqa, the Japan lock, and George join in. Together, they slow the attack to a standstill:

Such breakdown graft out wide, where opportunities regularly arise, is valuable and England should have earned a turnover here. Instead, Bevan Rodd conceded a penalty for using his hands in the ruck.

Tackle turnovers… but another learning point

Borthwick will have been encouraged to see Cunningham-South defy an ankle injury:

He begins this scrum on the blindside…

…and tracks across to clatter Jone Naikabula, with the ball squirting loose:

Later on, from a Mitchell clearance…

…a chasing Cunningham-South stooped to whack Lee in the back-field and earn another scrum put-in for England:

These interventions steer the momentum of matches. However, you can be sure that Aled Walters, will have been tasked with conditioning Cunningham-South so he can be a force throughout his time on the field.

From another Mitchell kick, Cunningham-South moves up-field…

…but lags behind Lawrence and gets disconnected:

Lee steps inside Lawrence and Cunningham-South to break England up the middle and George concedes a breakdown penalty:

This is the sort of lapse that New Zealand could turn into seven points.

Fitting systems…

In attack, Feyi-Waboso will be asked to roam around rucks. Wing play is a balance, though. His own try came as a result of holding width:

To examine a different aspect of England’s overall strategy, Cunningham-South was a prominent target at the front of the line-out…

…as he will need to be as England adjust to life without Courtney Lawes.

Here, the Harlequin begins between Itoje and George Martin…

…spinning to lift the latter. Faulua Makisi does well to sack the drive:

Besides the line-out, blitz defence is another pillar of England’s game. Feyi-Waboso, familiar with the principles from Exeter Chiefs, suits it superbly because of his agility and aggression. He is also picking moments increasingly well.

Here, as Japan move the ball away from a collapsed maul, Feyi-Waboso shoots up with Slade and assesses the passes that Tomoki Osada can throw. Note Furbank in the background once more:

Feyi-Waboso keeps coming, and plucks an interception. When he does so, he is probably in line with the left-hand post, which exemplifies the licence that Felix Jones is giving his wings to hunt the ball:

From an innocuous position, England win back possession and score shortly afterwards through Slade.

Imposing super-strengths

Early in the second half, we see a glimpse of how Feyi-Waboso and Cunningham-South can energise England’s attack. Japan clear long and Furbank waits to gather. Note the positions of Feyi-Waboso and Cunningham-South:

Feyi-Waboso gathers a pass from Furbank and heads in-field, marching through two forwards and up to the 10-metre line:

On the next phase, Cunningham-South is poised at first-receiver. Michael Leitch actually times his run to accelerate out of the line as Mitchell passes…

…yet cannot stop Cunningham-South before the gain-line. Indeed, a burly carry wins a breakdown penalty:

England swing back in the opposite direction, towards the near touchline. Itoje plays a pull-back to Marcus Smith, who links with Furbank.

Feyi-Waboso and Earl, two of the visitors’ most dangerous runners, are in space and the former slips another tackle to cut loose. Only some clever, industrious covering from Saitō cuts off what would have been a scoring pass to Mitchell:

Just before Cunningham-South was replaced, to allow Borthwick to try out a back row of Tom Curry, Sam Underhill and Ben Earl, he helped England escape this close-range line-out:

Without even being lifted, Cunningham-South gets enough spring to cause a spill from Leitch:

Two minutes later, Feyi-Waboso underlines his effectiveness in what is a crucial facet for Borthwick’s England: aerial competition.

Harry Randall’s box-kick is undercooked, but Feyi-Waboso tracks it well, gathers and bounces to his feet to eke out more metres:

On the front foot thanks to this rescue act, England eventually score through Randall.

Clearly, the All Blacks will put two inexperienced rivals under greater scrutiny in just about every area, but Borthwick obviously believes that backing Cunningham-South and Feyi-Waboso can spur England to the next level. Next stop, New Zealand. 

Match images from RugbyPass TV