Following claims from Australia about the level of niggle in the series, England has warned the Wallabies they will increase their aggressiveness in Saturday’s tour decider, with forwards coach Richard Cockerill insisting it has been “pretty tame” thus far.
Australia has dominated the buildup to the third Test by accusing England of “off the ball stuff” in Perth and Brisbane, while the ferocity of Wednesday night’s State Of Origin decider has hardened both sides ahead of Saturday’s match at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Last week in Brisbane, England raced to a 19-0 lead after Ellis Genge set the tone by crashing into Wallabies captain Michael Hooper, bringing a physicality that Australia could not handle. Genge was involved in some afters with scrum-half Nic White and Hooper, and in the first Test, Australia’s Darcy Swain was sent off for a headbutt on England’s Jonny Hill in response to provocation from England’s lock.
White stated this week that he was surprised by England’s troll tactics, prompting Eddie Jones to refer to the former Exeter scrum-half as “the greatest troll of all time.” When asked about comments from the Wallabies camp, Cockerill responded, “I did not see one of our players get sent off for a headbutt.” I continue to hear about the annoyance that England has introduced.
I am unfamiliar with Australian rugby, but I do not view this as a niggle. It has been relatively calm thus far. So we must simply play our game with a strong set piece, hard tackles, clean rucks, and as much physicality and abrasiveness as allowed by the rules. I do not believe it has been a particularly filthy series thus far.
“You desire competition, don’t you? You desire spikes in games. I don’t watch rugby league, but I watched Origin because the players were going to collide like madmen. The first 15 to 20 minutes on Saturday, bring it on because that is the point. It’s wonderful, isn’t it? They have inflated themselves, so we will need to do the same and more.
“We will arrive with greater physicality. We are going to play with an even greater sense of purpose because we improve with each game.
This is the challenge we face. I expect them to attack us aggressively. They will react because we physically dominated them in the first 30 minutes or so [in Brisbane]. “It’s no surprise that they’re going to arrive with more physicality because so are we.”
