Ellis Genge says England\u2019s improvement in the scrums has been motivated by the World Cup semi-final \u2018hammering\u2019 at the hands of the Springboks.<\/p>\n
South Africa knocked Steve Borthwick\u2019s men out of the tournament<\/a> courtesy of a 16-15 victory, with Handre Pollard expertly slotting a penalty in the 78th minute.<\/p>\n The scrum was a shining light in a disappointing Six Nations\u2019 campaign<\/p>\n That penalty was sourced from a scrum that Genge was involved in with the Springboks<\/a> getting the upper hand at the set-piece, and the veteran prop says that \u2018open wounds\u2019 from that night at the Stade de France have motivated his and England\u2019s<\/a> improvements.<\/p>\n However, he believes that they will only get their plaudits if they replicate their strong showing in the set-piece during the Six Nations<\/a> when they face the back-to-back world champions in South Africa in July.<\/p>\n It was a disappointing campaign for England in the Championship as they finished in a lowly fifth, only beating Wales during their tournament, but the scrum was a real positive.<\/p>\n \u201cI was just happy with the way the boys stuck together,\u201d Genge said of the performance in the Six Nations when speaking to The Daily Mail<\/a>. \u201cThere was not really any positive lights. Obviously played reasonably well against France, but I mean, we lost and came fifth.\u201d<\/p>\n The RFU is still conducting an extensive review of England\u2019s performance in the Six Nations, and Genge gave insight to involvement.<\/p>\n \u201cThey just ask for honest feedback, honest answers, and just give it to them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cLike I\u2019ll talk to Tom Harrison [England\u2019s scrum coach] about the scrum and stuff. Obviously, we had a +18 penalty differential, and the next highest was six, so the scrum went well.\u201d<\/p>\n State of the Nation: England facing \u2018ugly post-mortem\u2019 as Steve Borthwick regime left answering \u2018existential questions\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n The Springboks possess the most dominant pack we\u2019ve ever seen<\/p>\n With the Six Nations now behind England, the focus shifts to the inaugural Nations Championship, with their first match-up being the Springboks at Ellis Park in Johannesburg on July 4.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d love to,\u201d he replied when asked if he is relishing the test Rassie Erasmus\u2019 charges pose. \u201cIt\u2019s a real test, isn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFact, yeah. Most definitely, 100%,\u201d he added when it was noted that this is probably the \u2018most dominant pack we have ever seen\u2019 in international.\u201d<\/p>\n So, how do England prepare for that challenge? Well, Genge says that footwear will play a big part in it, as so many players nowadays don\u2019t want to wear the old school 12-studded boots. He admits that he doesn\u2019t either, but makes the sacrifice for the set-piece.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, you scrum. You get your cadence right. You get your sequencing right. You get everyone invested. You get the boys wearing decent footwear,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople want to wear f\u2013king molds now to play rugby, and I\u2019m showing my 12 studded 24 mm and ask how the \u2018F\u2013k do you run about in them?\u2019 I don\u2019t want to wear them, but I have to.<\/p>\n \u201cSo yeah, just get everyone invested. I think we\u2019re in a good spot. But yeah, the true test if you\u2019re being honest about it is in the summer.<\/p>\n \u201cLike no one will give us any plaudits until we go there and try to put our best foot forward against SA.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone\u2019s beatable,\u201d he continued, pointedly adding that \u201cWe\u2019ll find out\u201d if England\u2019s scrum can rise to the challenge that the Boks pose.<\/p>\n Ex-Springboks captain: PREM Rugby \u2018will regret\u2019 controversial decision as it \u2018fails\u2019 English Rugby and leaves Steve Borthwick with blunt \u2018tools\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n Rugby World Cup wounds<\/p>\n Casting his mind back to the 2023 Rugby World Cup, unwillingly so, Genge still harbours hurt from the scrum penalty that he conceded, which has driven him to bulk up and make improvements to the technicalities of his position.<\/p>\n \u201cOpen wounds, you get f\u2013king hammered in the scrum,\u201d he said. \u201cWell, not hammered, but your scrum lets you down and you want to rectify it.<\/p>\n \u201cLike the feeling after that semi of losing by a point and ultimately a penalty 40 metres out coming from our scrum, whether the decision was right or wrong. It hurts, like thanks for bringing that up. But yeah, so it\u2019s an open wound, and you just got to make sure it don\u2019t open back up.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked why that was so wounding, he replied: \u201cIt\u2019s a f\u2013king World Cup. It\u2019s a World Cup semi-final. The penalty for them to go ahead was from a scrum penalty that I was involved in, against me. So, obviously, it\u2019s going to make you feel a certain way, isn\u2019t it? Like you\u2019ve let the f\u2013king nation down.<\/p>\n \u201cI ain\u2019t going to go into it. I don\u2019t want to f\u2013king reopen a can of worms, but you watch the scrums from that game and make your own mind up.\u201d<\/p>\n