It’s All On The Line: All four series deciders. It’s Only Live Once; All Blacks vs Ireland (SS Action 7.30am), Australia vs England (SS Action 10.15am), Springboks vs Wales (SS Action 3.30pm), Argentina vs Scotland (SS Action 7.30pm); all deciding Tests exclusively live on Sky
Tuesday 12 July 2022 13:13, UK
England skipper Courtney Lawes has insisted the squad has depth ahead of a tilt at a "special" series-decider vs Australia, while Rory Darge has stressed Scotland's focus vs Argentina.
England dug in to force a series-deciding third Test against the Wallabies over the weekend, as Billy Vunipola's converted try and six Owen Farrell penalties secured a 25-17 second Test win in Brisbane.
Star second row Maro Itoje and openside flanker Sam Underhill will both miss Saturday's critical third Test, however, though Lawes told Sky Sports the squad does have depth.
"It's tough but we've got great players. I was speaking about strength in depth after the first week so we're going to see it now," he said.
"Ches (Ollie Chessum), when he came on at the weekend, was exceptional and Luds (Lewis Ludlam) has been class the whole tour.
"So, we've got some good players filling them big shoes.
"We've done a good bit of recovery; it was a pretty tough Test at the weekend, so you've got to make sure you get the body right.
"A lot of strategic stuff we can get through whilst we were being pretty lowkey and we had a decent hit-out today.
"I heard some of the guys had a bit of a swim. Some boys like the ocean, especially the Exeter boys. Those lads on the coast love the water but you won't catch some of the lads in there."
Lawes, a second row for the majority of his career but a blindside flanker regularly under Jones, added he hopes to remain in the back-row for Saturday's Test, in what he says could prove a "special tour."
"I hope not [in response to could we see you in the second row?] I don't know," he said.
"We've got Isiekwe covering the second row and I suppose Willis, hopefully if he's right and if he can get right for the weekend then he can cover the back-row.
"So, I don't think I'll be making an appearance in the second row, hopefully we keep all of our players on the pitch as well.
"It's a great opportunity for us. Obviously, it's been a pretty long season, so dig in. One last big push and we can make this a really special tour."
England tighthead prop Joe Heyes to Sky Sports on intimidating Australia fans, English energy and being part of an "incredible team"
"There was a first experience of Australian fans and they were intimidating. It was the first time I've ever been heckled before and it was actually quite entertaining really.
"I fully understand the rivalry now…coming into it, I didn't really get it as I hadn't ever experienced it. It's very heated and it all comes down to that last game in Sydney.
"I thought that we had a bit more energy and bounce in us. Every single player - 1 to 23 - showed how much it means.
"It does mean the world to a lot of players so we definitely made up for that first game.
"This team is an incredible team. Any person can step in and do a job and that's something that's been really impressive with everyone in the team.
"So there are no worries on that side [injuries]. I have full belief in the capabilities of every member of our team; I'm really excited for Saturday."
Scotland back-row Rory Darge to Sky Sports on second Test victory, back-row combinations, Saturday's third Test decider...
"We were obviously delighted. We had a disappointing performance the week before, so everyone was eager to get into that second Test and make-up for what was disappointing.
"I feel like we did that, but we've still get another Test to go, and still got more to come.
"We played well, but we can definitely play better.
"It wasn't massively tactical [Scotland's change and improvement], it was the more we watched the first game back we realised a lot of what went wrong was in our control.
"That if we just tweaked maybe a couple of things, but got most of the things right in our control, then we would get a better performance. And thankfully we got the win as well.
"It was a big day for Hamish (Watson) as well [50th Scotland cap], but it's always good to play with guys like Hamish and Matt (Fagerson).
"Hamish will go all day and never seems to run out of energy, and Matt Fagerson with his carries and his power - he had some really big moments for us as well as Hamish.
"It makes it a lot easier when you play with guys like that around you.
"It's [a series win] all we're focussed on. We were delighted with the win but we didn't come here to win one game, we wanted to win the series.
"So that's what our focus is on now. It's all on that.
"After the first Test not going the way we wanted it to, it shows a bit of character.
"That feeling we got last week was special, and it [a series victory] would probably be the highlight [of my career]."
An Ireland midweek team showing 15 changes to the side which beat New Zealand on Saturday claimed a 30-24 victory over the Maori All Blacks on Tuesday, keeping momentum going for Andy Farrell and co.
Jordan Larmour (two), Nick Timoney and Gavin Coombes scored tries for Ireland on a memorable day for an inexperienced side captained by Keith Earls, as they avenged a 32-17 defeat to the same opposition a fortnight ago.
"It was very pleasing. At times, we didn't help ourselves," Earls told Sky Sports afterwards.
"In the first game when we played the Maori our discipline (was poor). A lot of young lads, good players but didn't know what it takes to play in big-boy rugby. Thankfully, we learned from a lot of mistakes.
"Still discipline was off a small but, but thankfully we got the job done tonight.
"It's quite windy here, it's not dissimilar to Thomond Park when we play there. The various kickers on the team helped to take a bit of pressure off the nines and 10s.
"We knew if you gave these guys time and space, nine times out of 10 they'll pick a right option and break a tackle. So, we knew our physicality had to be right up there with our discipline.
"It's a very proud moment for me getting to captain these lads.
"I toured with Ireland in 2017 [to Japan] with a lot of young lads and it's great to see a lot of them now as senior players. It was brilliant to get out with these young lads and see them do it on a big stage like this."
Every deciding Test is live on Sky Sports Action across the day on Saturday, as the Northern Hemisphere teams all aim to replicate the success they achieved last weekend.
Watch all of the action from the Summer Tours on Saturday, with coverage live on Sky Sports Action from 7.30am.
