England ready for 'one of the best teams ever'
INTERVIEW: England attack coach Richard Wigglesworth threw down the gauntlet to South Africa ahead of their World Cup quarterfinal face-off in Paris on Saturday.
The Springboks head into the last-four round as favourites for a rematch with an England team they beat (32-12) convincingly in the Final four years ago.
However, Wigglesworth told a media briefing on Monday, at the start of the build-up to the Stade de France encounter, they are ‘in with a chance’ of upsetting the apple cart.
Many pundits have suggested the Boks are in better shape than they were four years ago.
They base that on the Springboks’ win over hosts France in a brutal quarterfinal this past Sunday.
The winner on Saturday will face either New Zealand or Argentina in October 28’s decider.
Wigglesworth admitted that facing South Africa is a ‘step up’ from Fiji, who England disposed of (30-24) in Marseille at the weekend.
“We are talking about one of the best teams ever, aiming to go back-to-back,” Wigglesworth said.
“They have evolved, and have had a solid coaching team for six years.
“They have a core group of players and they have added quality to it.
“They are an impressive outfit.”
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Wigglesworth, with more than 450 games between Sale Sharks, Saracens and Leicester Tigers, said they are not going to Paris just to make up the numbers.
“Why does everyone turn up to watch sport? Because you don’t know the result beforehand,” Wigglesworth told reporters.
“It would be boring if you knew the result.
“We’re not here for a holiday, or just to turn up, we want to put the best of ourselves on the field.
“We do that, we’ll be in with a chance,” the retired Test scrumhalf added.
The Springboks’ one-point win over France came in part thanks to coach Jacques Nienaber’s second-half substitution choices.
He introduced World Cup winning halfbacks Handre Pollard and Faf de Klerk and back row forward turned hooker Deon Fourie at half-time.
Abrasive flank Kwagga Smith and experienced fullback Willie le Roux came on even later and played big roles.
“You can tell they’re a smart, diligent coaching team,” Wigglesworth said.
“If you think who came on, Handre came on and had a big game on the field. Willie le Roux, a massively experienced player, had an effect on the game.
“They know they have all these different selection combinations to choose from,” he added.
Another element to the Boks’ substitutes is how many forwards and three-quarters they select among the eight replacements.
Against France they went with five players from the pack and three from among the backs after having experimented with different options before and during the World Cup.
“They’re in a great place in terms of a squad with multiple threats,” Wigglesworth said.
“If they want to go seven-one, five-three, they make that work because they’re bringing on very good players,” he added.
* Additional reporting by AFP
Watch the extended highlights of the epic France versus South Africa quarterfinal below, or CLICK HERE!
