Former England head coach Clive Woodward remains adamant that the brutal tactics South Africa implemented on their visit to Twickenham 20 years ago were 'unacceptable'.
The Springboks visited England in their last game of a tour including matches against Scotland and France. The visitors put on a physical performance which Woodward claimed was full of 'cheap shots' as he warned his side not to lose their tempers. Jannes Labuschagne was sent off for a late tackle on Jonny Wilkinson but South Africa got away with stamps, knees, elbows and punches on their hosts during the ill-tempered affair.
Despite being physically assaulted at times by their opposition England ran out clear winners scoring seven tries and a penalty try.
"Some of the stuff that went on was unacceptable," said Woodward in a piece for the Daily Mail "They didn’t need to, but the Springboks crossed the line.
"I said to my players: ‘The only way we can lose is if we lose control and start fighting back.’ We didn’t get involved in the cheap shots from South Africa. They thought they could bully and intimidate England which was never going to happen because we had such a tough team. No one bullied Martin Johnson, Lawrence Dallaglio or Jonny Wilkinson.
"There was a lot of off-the-ball stuff going on. It would have been easy to react. But my mantra at the time was ‘T-Cup’ — thinking correctly under pressure — and that’s what the players did. People will always remember the violence, but the final score tells its own story."
England had an impressive squad which went on to win the World Cup a year later and the England coach said the Springboks couldn't cope with their talent. Woodward made referee Paddy O’Brien a video tape of all the incidents from the match which included a 'forearm smash' Corne Krige on Matt Dawson.
"To his credit, O’Brien came back and said how sorry he was," added Woodward. "He admitted he missed a lot of incidents and should have sent three or four South Africans off. I think he regrets it.
Which is the most physical rugby match you can recall? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section
"I’ve got a picture on the wall of my office with the final score that day on it. I never thought growing up we’d beat South Africa 53-3 at Twickenham. The Springboks couldn’t live with us. They’d have got beaten even if they’d kept 15 on the pitch because their attitude was just all wrong.
"What happened in the end showed that if you play with power and pace, no team can live with you even if they go outside the law or try to take matters into their own hands."
