Africa-Press – South-Africa. They may be at opposite ends of the form scale but Springbok captain Siya Kolisi isn’t taking England lightly ahead of Saturday’s clash at Twickenham.
The Springboks have lost twice this year while England boast the same number of wins in their last eight matches.
England, the Bok captain believes, will be hurting from their recent defeats to the All Blacks and the Wallabies and will be more determined to set the record right.
“100%. We’ve been there too,” reminded Kolisi.
“We know what it’s like. That’s when we’ve been able to turn up. I think we did it after we lost two games in Australia in a row and we had to play the All Blacks,” he said about the 2021 Rugby Championship when they lost twice to the Wallabies, then the All Blacks before beating the same opposition in Gold Coast the following weekend.
“Those things can sometimes pull a team together. We know what England are going to bring and they are at home. It is very special for opposing teams and for them. The crowd will get behind them.
“Our record here is one we have to rectify,” said Kolisi about the three defeats they’ve suffered in their last six Tests at Twickenham.
“We have a lot to play for. We have a lot to fix from last week. We won but you could see the players weren’t happy with the way we played. This is a very important game for us.”
Assistant coach Mzwandile Stick made the point that England aren’t as bad as people think. “Losing in the last minute of a game doesn’t make you a bad team. These guys have been playing well. They’ve just been unlucky at the end.
“Look at last year when they struggled to get through the quarterfinals (at the Rugby World Cup). They struggled to get into the semifinals. Everyone thought they don’t stand a chance to win against us in the semifinals. We had to come up with different plans to win the game.
“As a coaching staff you can take a lot from those games but when teams are desperate there will be more motivation to win the game. We can’t afford not to be at our best.”
What has been most alarming for England is the way they’ve faded in the final quarter. They and have been particularly off colour when the game has been in the balance in the closing minute.
The Boks by contrast, rank among the highest scorers in the final quarter this year. England’s late lapses, to be fair, aren’t confined to this year. They will need no reminding they held a 10-point advantage with as many minutes to go in last year’s RWC semifinal in Paris before the Springboks reaffirmed their champion credentials.
Victory for the Springboks will leave them one step away from completing their first unbeaten end of year tour since 2013.
TeamsEngland — Freddie Steward; Tommy Freeman, Ollie Lawrence, Henry Slade, Ollie Sleightholme; Marcus Smith, Jack van Poortvliet;Ben Earls, Sam Underhill, Chandler Cunningham-South; George Martin, Maro Itoje; Will Stuart, Jamie George (captain), Ellis Genge.
Substitutes: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Finn Baxter, Dan Cole, Nick Isiekwe, Alex Dombrandt; Harry Randall, George Ford, Tom Roebuck.
Springboks — Aphelele Fassi; Cheslin Kolbe, Jesse Kriel, Damian de Allende, Kurt-Lee Arendse; Manie Libbok, Grant Williams; Jasper Wiese, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Siya Kolisi; RG Snyman, Eben Etzebeth; Wilco Louw, Bongi Mbonambi, Ox Nche.
Substitutes: Malcolm Marx, Gerhard Steenekamp, Vincent Koch, Elrigh Louw, Kwagga Smith; Cobus Reinach (Montpellier), Handré Pollard, Lukhanyo Am.
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland). Assistant referees: Chris Busby (Ireland), Eoghan Cross (Ireland).
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
Kickoff: 7.40pm
For More News And Analysis About South-Africa Follow Africa-Press
