Autumn Nations Series: England's replacements bench under Steve Borthwick becoming real point of difference

One of the enduring images and notions of the South Africa team which would go on to defend their 2019 Rugby World Cup title in France four years later was the self-styled 'bomb squad.'

Such a rugby idea was rooted in holding back some of the best players within your squad on the replacements bench, and then unloading them all at once within the second half for maximum impact to kick on and win the game. It's a tactic Steve Borthwick's England are very visibly starting to employ with success.

The extent to which such a tactic contributed to the Springboks winning the 2023 World Cup is debatable, in that Rassie Erasmus' side lost to Ireland during the pool stages and won three successive knockout Tests by just a single point in each - all games that could so easily have gone the other way