The true value of a midweek match
Working with world-class coaches is the real value players gain from playing in midweek matches for England.
That is view of England's midweek captain and lock George Robson, after his team romped to their second successive win over a South African Barbarians team – beating the northern version of the BaaBaas 57-31 in Potchefstroom on Tuesday, following the 54-26 hammering of the southern version in Kimberley six days earlier.
Having scored more than 50 points in both matches and collected eight tries in each, the latest result will also give the Test team a boost ahead of the third and final international in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.
However, it is the value of touring and training with top coaches that will really benefit the players.
"I think it has been invaluable," Robson said when asked about the midweek selection's performances.
"You look at guys in the pack, they get to work with guys like Graham Rowntree. And in the backs you get to work with Mike Catt.
"If you are one of the players who haven't been in the [England] set-up before, it is invaluable experience you get to gain – you learn a huge amount from those guys."
Both Robson and coach Stuart Lancaster said there were "plenty of positives" to take out of the second midweek win.
"It was definitely a tougher challenge than the week before," Robson said of the trip to Potch.
"[There was] a lot more pressure in different areas. [But] that is what we want as players, to be challenged.
"The players will learn from this match and learn from the tour in general, take their games forward from here."
He said there were "little things" they can tweak and improve on, as always, but were "pretty happy" with the performance.
Asked if the win was a boost for the Test team, hoping to avoid a whitewash after losing 17-22 in Durban and 27-36 in Johannesburg, he said: "We certainly hope so, that's what we wanted [to achieve] going into the game."
England complete the tour with a third and final Test against the Springboks in Port Elizabeth Saturday.
Lancaster said: "There are lots of positives we can take positives from the performance although there were one or two areas where we let it slip, particularly in that third quarter defensively.
"I think it was important to put in a positive performance.
"We wanted to improve on the quality of the performance we put in last week. I thought there was a better intensity and shape about what we did.
"I thought the boys adapted to the conditions better, and they have been here a week now. It was good for the boys in the stand watching as well."
