PARIS (AP) — Rugby teams have all kinds of behind-the-scenes specialists in their backroom staff these days.
The English even have a ball-dunker.
With rain in the forecast for its semifinal against South Africa at the Rugby World Cup on Saturday, England has been practicing with a wet ball in training this week to get its players attuned.
“There (has been) a logistics guy on the sidelines,” England attack coach Richard Wigglesworth said on Friday, “with a bucket of water with balls ready to go into whenever we are swapping or starting a set.
"We are focusing in on what it might be like to handle a wet ball rather than a dry one.”
The likelihood of handling errors increases in wet weather, so teams may choose to kick the ball more in such conditions.
The Springboks are renowned for having a strong kick-chase game when they need it, and that's a department England has looked to improve since coach Steve Borthwick was hired late last year.
Freddie Steward can expect to have a busy match, then, after being recalled at fullback by England, having been dropped for Marcus Smith for the win over Fiji in the quarterfinals. Smith was regarded as a better broken-field runner, but Steward has a proven ability under the high ball so was always likely to return.
“The thing about Freddie is that everybody knows how good he is in the air and everybody knows what a fantastic player he is in general,” England captain Owen Farrell said on Thursday. "But it’s the want to do it, the want to be in those battles, the want to win the ball back for his team, the want to defuse what’s coming our way as well. He’s one of the best in the world at it.”
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AP Rugby World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby
