Bentley fears England face testing time against Springboks

No matter how much good he does for trumpeting the cause of northern rugby – and he does a lot – it is his try-scoring role for the British and Irish Lions against the Springboks in 1997 for which he will always be remembered.

Fifteen years may have passed since his first and most famous visit to the country, but he remains all too aware of the welcome visiting rugby players receive. Three years ago Bentley was working in the media and touring as a fan as the Lions returned to South Africa.

The political climate in the country had changed in the intervening years, and racial tensions had reduced, but one thing had not changed.

“It is without doubt the toughest place you can go,” says Bentley. “Always has been, always will be.

“They’re very welcoming, but you can sense the hostility.

“There is always an underlying tension, almost as if they are saying, ‘welcome to our country...we are going to kick your heads in’.

“The South African style is very aggressive and confrontational.

“To go back in 2009 was great because you could see how much the country had developed, but it remained a very passionate and intimidating place to play.”

England travel to South Africa today for a Test series which encompasses three matches against the Springboks in Durban (June 9), Johannesburg (June 16) and Port Elizabeth (June 23).

Unlike the Lions of 1997 and 1974, England have never won a Test series on South African soil. Indeed the last time the Red Rose played there prior to the World Cup in 2007, they were trounced 58-10 and 55-22 on successive weekends.

Stuart Lancaster’s young, hungry squad may have their tails up after exceeding expectations in the recent Six Nations championship. Yet even though they are under no illusions as to the size of the task facing them, Bentley believes the series should be viewed as an opportunity to continue building a dynamic towards the 2015 World Cup.

“England have never won a Test series in South Africa (they in 1994 and 2000) and it’s not an enviable place to be going after a long, nine-month domestic and European season,” says Bentley.

“But Lanny has done a fantastic job and he got himself into a position where they couldn’t not give him the job.

“Before the Six Nations it wasn’t about winning the tournament it was about putting together a group of players.

“And he’s assembled a good blend of players for the summer tour and again this is all about progression.

“There’s two things they need to get out of this tour.

“First and foremost the experience is going to serve the boys fantastically for future progression.

“Secondly, that performance is more important than results. Once again it’s about preparing these players for 2015.

“But it’s a hard place to go and win. It will be as intense as it’s ever been.”

If England are to pull off the near-unthinkable and win the series, Bentley believes Lancaster would do well to take a leaf out of the successful Lions team of ‘97.

“That squad was made up of a lot of English players who were lumbering forwards,” recalls Bentley. “But we recognised that to win we didn’t necessarily have to play to that strength.

“The ‘Boks would have battered us because physically they were far superior up front, as is similar this time around.

“With South Africans if you put something in front of them they will knock it down...and then stomp all over it.

“So we picked two props who weren’t necessarily good scrummagers but were very mobile – and it worked.

“Stuart has to decide if he wants to tackle them head on or find another way around them because there’s a balance of dealing with the threat of the opposition while still concentrating on what you’re good at. And that’s something that will be intriguing to find out over the next few weeks, because we still don’t know what this England team is all about.”

Lancaster, left, will be without prop Matt Stevens who has been ruled out with a shoulder injury. Gloucester’s Rupert Harden has been called up.