England’s attack coach eyes ‘Cinderella story’ in South Africa

Saturday, 2 June 2018 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters: Reinvigorating England’s flagging offensive play and helping the team to a first series win in South Africa would amount to a ‘Cinderella story’ for new attack coach Scott Wisemantel.

The 48-year-old Australian was appointed on a short-term deal for the three-test tour starting 9 June, reuniting him with head coach Eddie Jones after the pair worked together at the Wallabies and Japan.

“Probably Eddie’s biggest selling point was that England has never won a series in South Africa. For me, that was a bit of a challenge,” Wisemantel told British media. “It’s a Cinderella story if we do it. I wouldn’t have come here if I didn’t believe England have the players to win there, and that I can make an improvement.”

England are keen to put more emphasis on attacking play after a poor Six Nations campaign during which they lost their last three matches to finish fifth.

Wisemantel has a reputation for having the courage of his convictions and said he would not hesitate to stand up to Jones with regard to tactics during the tour.

“It is not easy but that’s a real relationship, isn’t it? If I disagree, I disagree and then we have the debate and vice versa,” he said.

“The quality (of the team) in general is good, but is it perfect? No, it’s not. So, we’re going to aim for perfection,” he added. “The reality is, in an open-skill sport, when you’ve got multiple decisions, you’re never going to get perfect, but their desire to get better is probably one of the qualities that has stood out.”

England face South Africa in Johannesburg (9 June), Bloemfontein (16 June) and Cape Town (23 June).