The China Mail - How England revived their rugby fortunes

The team head into their final Autumn Nations Series Test at home to Argentina on Sunday on a run of 10 successive wins following last weekend's thrilling 33-19 victory against New Zealand at Twickenham.

AFP Sport looks at three factors behind England's surge.

Growing maturity

England had several painful near-misses last year, including three defeats by the All Blacks -- but by a collective margin of just 10 points.

"The team is growing, we played a series of very challenging games against very good opposition and had been very close," the England coach said.

"There is an expectation that England don't go through the step of growth, just go to win.

"You have got to go through some experiences sometimes and that is exactly what the team has done and maximised the learning from those experiences, from each and every game."

England's own 'Bomb Squad'

South Africa coach Rassie Erasmus pioneered packing his eight-strong bench with at least six forwards and bringing on several at once early in the second half to add fresh power.

His "Bomb Squad" was a key factor in the Springboks' triumphs at the 2019 and 2023 World Cups.

England have mimicked South Africa's strategy and it is paying rich dividends.

Dynamic 20-year-old back-row Henry Pollock has been particularly impressive off the bench, including against New Zealand last week, helping his team dominate the closing stages of matches.

Former England captain Lawrence Dallaglio said Pollock had produced a "sensational cameo" in the team's first home victory against the All Blacks since 2012.

"He won a turnover penalty, another penalty off the scrum and then kicked through for the match-sealing try," Dallaglio told the Sunday Times.

"It was a sensational cameo. He is still only 20. He just oozes confidence and, as a consequence, he makes things happen."

Scrum strength

A solid scrum is vital but at Test level, having a set-piece that wins more penalties than it concedes is especially important given the high standard of goal-kicking.

In 2022 -- before Borthwick took charge -- England's scrum conceded more penalties than that of other leading nations.

In every year since, they have ranked in the top three in the world for most penalties won and fewest conceded and are now rivalling the Springboks for scrum dominance.

Significantly, England have developed a group of young props, with Borthwick confident enough to field an entirely refreshed front row against Argentina -- long renowned for their strong scrum.

"We want to be a ruthless scrum. We don't want to be doing stupid things and giving away ridiculous penalties for over-leaning or going too early," said England prop Joe Heyes, who is not even in the match-day 23 to face the Pumas.

"We're much more self-disciplined, we don't give away those silly penalties or 50-50s. There's nine front-rowers in the squad and it's everyone's responsibility."

A.Zhang--ThChM