Ken Borland

Toby Flood has replaced Owen Farrell at flyhalf for England for the second Test against South Africa, which should indicate a more expansive approach from the visitors at Ellis Park on Saturday.

Flood’s call-up is one of five changes – two positional – that have been made to the side which lost the first Test 22-17 in Durban last weekend.

Inside centre Brad Barritt has been ruled out due to surgery on a lacerated eyeball, with Manu Tuilagi, who was outside centre, shifting into the number 12 jersey.

Jonathan Joseph, who was Barritt’s replacement when he left the field in the second half last weekend, will replace Tuilagi at outside centre and make his first Test start.

Fullback Mike Brown, who was sent home earlier this week due to a fractured thumb, has been replaced by Ben Foden, who was left wing in the first Test.

David Strettle, who was impressive during the Six Nations campaign, returns to the number 11 jersey.

“There will be a different emphasis in terms of the personnel that have been picked, but playing in the right areas is still first and foremost. We don’t want to expend too much energy playing in our own half,” England coach Stuart Lancaster told a news conference in Johannesburg on Thursday.

The 20-year-old Farrell’s goalkicking was impressive during the first Test but he only used his backline sporadically. Flood is expected to provide more vision and attacking spark to the backs.

“Owen has had a fantastic season and I am sure he will make a significant impact from the bench. However, Toby has waited patiently for his opportunity and the time is right to allow him the chance to demonstrate his experience and skills in what will be a very tough challenge,” Lancaster said.

“Toby will form a Leicester triumvirate with Ben Youngs and Manu Tuilagi and hopefully they can bring that synergy at club level into the test.

“Having two ball-players in the backline is important for the balance, but we have to prepare for both attack and defence, and recognise the threat the Springboks pose through the midfield channels. We have to win the gain-line battle and we have a better opportunity of doing that with Manu more able to get over when he’s playing one place inside. If he gets over the gain-line, then hopefully the two ball-players outside him can capitalise,” Lancaster said.

England’s starting pack, which was outplayed by the Springboks in the second half, remains unchanged, but reserve prop Paul Doran-Jones has been replaced by fit-again Alex Corbisiero on the bench.

Joseph’s place on the bench has been taken by Alex Goode.

“Jonathan is exciting, he has good feet and is a good distributor, plus he has the temperament to play at this level,” Lancaster said.

Team – 15-Ben Foden, 14-Chris Ashton, 13-Jonathan Joseph, 12-Manusamoa Tuilagi, 11-David Strettle (Saracens), 10-Toby Flood, 9-Ben Youngs, 8 Ben Morgan, 7-Chris Robshaw, 6-Tom Johnson, 5-Geoff Parling, 4-Mouritz Botha, 3-Dan Cole, 2-Dylan Hartley, 1-Joe Marler. Replacements: 16-Lee Mears, 17-Alex Corbisiero, 18-Tom Palmer, 19-Phil Dowson, 20-Lee Dickson, 21-Owen Farrell, 22-Alex Goode.

The ACT Brumbies swarmed to a 34-20 (half-time 17-6) victory over the Gauteng Lions, putting themselves in pole position in the Australian Conference, in their SuperRugby match at Ellis Park on Friday.

Wing Henry Speight, with two tries, was one of the driving forces for the overwhelming victory, along with the strong running of flyhalf Christian Lealiifano and a dominant forward pack.

The Lions, who are under pressure to maintain their SuperRugby status with the South African Rugby Union having guaranteed the Southern Kings promotion next year, produced an abject display and only rallied to score two tries in the final quarter to narrow the losing margin.

“I’m very happy. The way we carried the ball was so precise, we stuck with things and we put them under real pressure in the 22. We had some great stuff going on on the gain-line and things are starting to come together that we’ve been working on,” Brumbies coach Jake White said after the match.

The Brumbies went behind early to a penalty by Lions flyhalf Elton Jantjies, but struck back with a 12th-minute try by prop Ruaidhri Murphy, who ploughed over the line from a ruck set up when Speight was stopped just short of the line after bursting down the blindside wing.

The visitors fell behind again, though, as Jantjies kicked another penalty four minutes later, and the Lions held on to the lead until the 22nd minute as Lealiifano and fullback Jesse Mogg missed three kicks between them.

With scrumhalf Nic White feeding them quick ball from the rucks, the Brumbies backs were a constant threat with their direct running and changes in the point of attack and Speight grabbed his first try after White’s long pass to outside centre Andrew Smith had set up a ruck, from which Lealiifano made a half-break to present the wing with an easy touchdown.

Speight was involved again as the Brumbies scored five minutes before half-time, cutting in from his wing and breaking through the porous Lions defence and popping the ball to Smith to dot down.

The lacklustre Lions had defended poorly and kicked wastefully in the first half and started the second half in even worse fashion as they conceded two tries in the first seven minutes.

Lions fullback Andries Coetzee presented wing Joe Tomane with a welcome gift try as he failed to gather a Mogg grubber and flank Michael Hooper, having hassled the Lions all game at the breakdown, then punished them from the kickoff as he burst clear and set up prop Ben Alexander for a powerful finish.

Speight scored again for the Brumbies in the 58th minute after the Lions twice presented them with turnovers in the 22, stretching the lead to an unassailable 34-6.

The situation was made worse for the Lions in the 63rd minute when replacement centre Butch James charged into a ruck with his shoulder and was yellow-carded. But the home team finished the match as the stronger side, with centre Jaco Taute and loosehead prop Caylib Oosthuizen scoring never-say-die tries at the death, both converted by Jantjies.

“It was our worst defensive performance of the season. We weren’t effective in the tackle and they hurt us with their carry and got enough breaches. They kept hold of their ball while we lost ours and they were more effective at the breakdown. I thought Hooper was outstanding, he’s world-class, that boy,” Lions coach John Mitchell said.

But the Brumbies were the stars of the show with imposing eighthman Fotu Auelua also amongst their heroes and named man of the match.

The Lions have now won just one of their eight matches and face a daunting task when they play the pace-setting Waikato Chiefs in Hamilton on May 5.

The Chiefs will have the chance to extend their lead on top of the standings when they host the Wellington Hurricanes on Saturday.

Scorers

Lions – Tries: Jaco Taute, Caylib Oosthuizen. Conversions: Elton Jantjies (2). Penalties: Elton Jantjies (2).

Brumbies – Tries: Ruaidhri Murphy, Henry Speight (2), Andrew Smith, Joe Tomane, Ben Alexander. Conversions: Jesse Mogg, Christian Lealiifano.

The Canterbury Crusaders used their forward dominance in the second half to beat the Gauteng Lions 23-13 in their SuperRugby match at Ellis Park on Saturday.

The Lions scored their only try four minutes before half-time to claim a 13-10 lead at the break, but struggled to get out of their territory in the second half as the Crusaders’ forwards took control, using tight play and direct running.

The New Zealanders regained the lead four minutes after the break as wing Sean Maitland gleefully ran on to a lovely grubber from fullback Israel Dagg, after the Lions had suffered a costly turnover in their own 22.

Centre Tom Taylor, who played at flyhalf for much of the second half as Dan Carter was substituted after an hour upon his return from groin surgery, kicked the conversion to make the score 17-13.

Taylor then failed with a 51-metre penalty attempt, but succeeded with penalties in the 48th and 63rd minutes to complete the scoring.

“We were really disappointed with our start, we were really inaccurate. But we played with better intent in the second half after sitting back in the first half. We had good field position and we wanted to be a lot more direct and go through the middle,” Crusaders coach Todd Blackadder told a news conference after the game.

“But we absolutely let a bonus point slip because we were really inaccurate, which is frustrating.”

The Lions dominated the first half as they kept possession for long periods. But it proved a false dawn for the SuperRugby strugglers as they battled to penetrate the tight Crusaders’ defence.

There were promising breaks by the home side, but captain and flank Josh Strauss passed straight to opposition centre Taylor with the tryline in sight, and lock Franco van der Merwe was held up over the line by scrumhalf Andy Ellis.

Ruck infringements accounted for the first points of the match for both sides as Lions flyhalf Butch James (19th) and Taylor (21st) kicked penalties.

Taylor’s first kick at goal came after wing Zac Guildford had opened up the Lions defence with a mazy run and the 23-year-old All Black also scored the opening try 10 minutes later when he raced on to Carter’s slick pop-pass on the inside after centre Robbie Fruean had crashed the ball over the advantage line.

Prop Pat Cilliers scored the Lions’ only try as he burst off the back of a ruck.

“The moments after half-time were the turning point. We just didn’t control possession and we weren’t accurate enough. It’s very obvious our lineout’s not working as we’d like and it’s unacceptable,” Lions coach John Mitchell said.

The Lions have now won just one of their five SuperRugby matches this season, while the Crusaders complete their two-match South African tour by playing the Bulls in Pretoria next Saturday.

Scorers

Lions – Try: Pat Cilliers. Conversion: Butch James. Penalties: James (2).

Crusaders – Tries: Zac Guildford, Sean Maitland. Conversions: Tom Taylor (2). Penalties: Taylor (3).

Twenty-year-old flyhalf Beauden Barrett kicked a 78th-minute penalty to give the Wellington Hurricanes a 30-28 (half-time 14-8) victory over the Gauteng Lions in their SuperRugby match at Ellis Park on Friday.

Barrett, who was man of the match in last weekend’s defeat by the Stormers, reaffirmed his reputation as a top-class prospect as he kicked three other penalties and also played a key role in the Hurricanes’ third and final try.

The 2011 IRB Junior World Championship winner put through a deft grubber, which wing Corey Jane ran on to, holding off opposite number Deon van Rensburg to score the try and complete a crucial two-try burst in three minutes midway through the second half for the visitors.

Centre Conrad Smith had moments earlier kicked through a dropped pass by the Lions and then rushed on to the bouncing ball and manufactured a brilliant crossfield kick-pass for hooker Dan Coles to complete the try.

“I do enjoy my soccer, so it was great to get a chance to show my skills. But really, it was more because I couldn’t see myself running another 30 metres with the ball and I heard someone shout outside me. I just didn’t realise it was the hooker,” Smith joked afterwards.

The two tries put the Hurricanes in firm control at 27-18 up but, after conceding a penalty to Lions flyhalf Elton Jantjies, they then made a complete hash of defending a rolling maul, allowing the home side to storm back into their territory. From a ruck close to the tryline, the strength of replacement centre Butch James allowed him to barge over the line.

Jantjies converted to give the Lions a 28-27 lead, but with nine minutes still remaining, it was obvious the Hurricanes would fight hard to regain the lead.

The Lions were unfortunate to lose two props – JC Janse van Rensburg and CJ van der Linde – to injuries in the first half-hour, leading to uncontested scrums and the neutralisation of one of their main weapons. The Hurricanes were thus under no pressure at the set-piece and, having dominated the breakdowns, were able to rumble the ball upfield in the closing minutes, eventually catching the Lions backline offside and allowing Barrett his match-winning kick at goal.

“We were scrumming very well and it made the contest different – we couldn’t add pressure and take energy out of their legs through that route. But we should have finished the contest, we had the opportunity and we just weren’t very smart,” Lions coach John Mitchell told a news conference after the game.

The Lions had scored the opening try in the ninth minute when fullback Jaco Taute reached over in the left corner, after Hurricanes scrumhalf Chris Eaton had dropped the kick-off following Barrett’s opening penalty.

Barrett added two more penalties in the first half, before the Hurricanes went into the break 14-8 up after fullback Andre Taylor had squeezed over in the right corner, the visitors having stretched the Lions’ defences to the limit.

“I’m really pleased, we planned well and we have a very fit team. Playing on the highveld can eat away at you, but I knew the boys would last for the last 25 and they showed great composure too,” Hurricanes coach Mark Hammett said.