Rugby: England's Third Test Plan

With the series already lost, England face South Africa in the third and final test match of their series this Saturday. After two defeats, Stuart Lancaster must be sick of valiant losing efforts, and will be looking to end the tour on a win. Here are three things his side must do, if they are to win in Port Elizabeth.

Cut out the Mistakes

England have not given themselves a chance to get into a winning position in the first two matches thanks to mistakes at key moments. These are inevitable for a new and inexperienced side, but players who fail to learn from their mistakes rarely last long in international rugby. Four minutes into the second test, the England front row failed to secure possession at a five metre scrum. The ball found its way to the feet of flanker Tom Johnson, who failed to react before it squirted out and was pounced on by Willem Alberts to score the opening try. England cannot gift their opponents opportunities like this in test rugby, the margins are too fine. Similarly, there have been too many missed tackles, which means that the English defence is always scrambling to catch up with play.

Improve in attack

Stuart Lancaster's team has shown more intent to attack with the ball in hand than in the Martin Johnson era, but there is still a long way to go. English players often seem unsure about what to do at key moments, and although the amount of aimless kicking has been reduced, there are still traces of the previous regime's conservatism. South Africa's final try last Saturday came from a misdirected and poorly chosen kick from Jonathan Joseph. The centre, making only his second appearance, failed to notice that no-one was in position to chase the kick and instead of retaining possession, he aimed his kick straight down the throat of JP Pietersen, who set up the try. Reverting to Toby Flood at fly-half was a positive step, and he was more assertive than in the past, but England's players still need a clearer idea of what they are going to do when they are inside the opposition 22, and need to be more precise when they do it.

Start fast

Like the 2009 Lions, England were slow out of the blocks last Saturday, and found themselves two scores down before they had had any significant possession This ultimately doomed the Lions, and it has doomed England in this series. Whether this was due to young players being overwhelmed by the moment, the intensity of the Springboks, or the effects of altitude, Lancaster and his team must diagnose this problem and solve it before the third test. A team cannot afford to give head starts to an opponent as powerful as the South African side.