Preview: England v South Africa
YEAR-END INTERNATIONALS: The first time these two countries met was in a drawn match in 1906.
Not that Englishman and South Africans had not met in Test matches before then. The 1891 team was Anglo-Scottish, the 1896 team Anglo-Irish and the 1903 team had even had a Welshman, though there was still an English majority.
From 1906 till 1984 the countries played each other nine times.
Since 1992, when the Springboks’ isolation was ended and they were allowed to play in international rugby again, they have met 32 times.
In 2007, they met four times, twice at the World Cup in France and this will be the fourth match this year.
The teams have met 41 times, South Africa winning 25, England 14 and there are two draws.
They have played 20 times at Twickenham, where South Africa lead 11-9.
In fact, the Springboks were the first team to beat England at Twickenham. That was in 1913.
This year a Test series of three matches were played in South Africa.
South Africa won the series (two-one), but England had the last word – beating the Springboks in the rain at Newlands.
No rain is forecast for Twickenham on Saturday, but it will be cold, much colder than Newlands in the rain.
It’s not, sadly, a match to get excited about. There are just so many Tests that it’s no longer such a special occasion. Less probably would be more.
Then there is the suspicion that this is some sort of trial or match practice for the World Cup in Japan next year.
Then there is also so much rugby that there are players missing through injury and, in the case of the Springboks, through club unwillingness to release players to play for their country. This means that Faf de Klerk, Francois Louw, Cheslin Kolbe, Willie le Roux and Franco Mostert will not be at Twickenham.
All that said, there will still be 46 top class players playing for their country before a huge Twickenham crowd on Saturday.
It is a game that may boil down to a battle between the England backs and the South African forwards.
The England backs look faster, more attacking and more unified than the Springbok backs, who have no speedsters on the bench to add late impact.
The robust Springbok pack may just get the better of the England pack.
The year so far
England: Played eight, winning three
South Africa: Played 10, winning five
Wales have been their only opponents in common.
England beat Wales 12-6.
Wales beat South Africa 22-20
And then they played each other, South Africa winning two, England one. Of the teams that started in the Newlands Test, there are seven from each side starting again this week at Twickenham.
South Africa has the confidence they must have from beating the mighty All Blacks in New Zealand.
Players to Watch
For England: all the backs from Ben Youngs to Elliot Daly, especially the fast, strong, creative back three – Daly, Jack Nowell and Jonny May. Then Owen Farrell, experienced, skilled and cheeky, is a flyhalf to create opportunities for these backs.
For South Africa: The back three – Damian Willemse, Aphiwe Dyantyi and Sibu Nkosi – have just nine caps all told. But Dyantyi’s speed and footwork could amaze Twickenham. The outstanding Springboks may well be in the pack – men like Duane Vermeulen and Malcolm Marx especially.
Head to head: Backs versus Backs – the going could be tough for the inexperienced Springboks. (The seven backs have a total of 122 caps while the forwards have 293 caps.) Defence out wide will need concentration and determination. The vital contest could just be at scrumhalf – experienced Ben Youngs against inexperienced Ivan van Zyl, who has three caps while his back-up, Embrose Papier has four. The role of the scrumhalf is vital to a team’s morale and success. The England pack is, Dylan Hartley apart, inexperienced. Hartley has 94 caps, which is more than the rest of the pack put together. Front Row versus Front Row – Alec Hepburn, Dylan Hartley and Kyle Sinckler versus Steven Kitshoff, Malcolm Marx and Frans Malherbe who have strong back-ups on the bench, especially Wilco Louw, the strongest of them all. If the tight forwards suffer, the loose forwards will find it tough against speedy Warren Whiteley, powerful Duane Vermeulen and Siya Kolisi who often springs a surprise with the ball in hand. Goal-kicker versus Goal-kicker – Owen Farrell versus Handré Pollard, of whom Farrell is the more consistent. Farrell has a 77 percent success rate, Pollard 68 percent. (Elton Jantjies has 82 percent success.) Defence versus Defence. Eddie Jones believes that his team is better than it was in June. Anybody who saw the 246 tackles the Springboks made in winning in Wellington, know that the Springboks have the ability and determination to defend successfully, with Pieter-Steph du Toit leading the way.
Recent Results
2018: England won 25-10, Cape Town
2018: South Africa won 23-12, Bloemfontein
2018: South Africa won 42-39, Johannesburg
2016: England won 37-21, London
2014: South Africa won 31-28, London
2012: South Africa won 36-27, Johannesburg
2012: South Africa won 22-17, Durban
2012: South Africa won 16-15, London
2012: Draw 14-all, Port Elizabeth
2010: South Africa won 21-11, London
2008: South Africa won 42-6, London
Prediction: The Springboks are no strangers to winning at Twickenham, but those England backs look so good. That said, the Springboks have proved this year that they can defend. Let’s take a chance and say that South Africa will win by two points.
Teams
England: 15 Elliot Daly, 14 Jack Nowell, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Ben Te’o, 11 Jonny May, 10 Owen Farrell (co-captain), 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Mark Wilson, 7 Tom Curry, 6 Brad Shields, 5 George Kruis, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Dylan Hartley (co-captain), 1 Alec Hepburn.
Replacements: 16 Jamie George, 17 Ben Moon, 18 Harry Williams, 19 Charlie Ewels, 20 Zach Mercer, 21 Danny Care, 22 George Ford, 23 Manu Tuilagi.
South Africa: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Sbu Nkosi, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Aphiwe Dyantyi, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Ivan van Zyl, 8 Warren Whiteley, 7 Duane Vermeulen, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Steven Kitshoff
Replacements: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Thomas du Toit, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Lood de Jager, 21 Embrose Papier, 22 Elton Jantjies, 23 André Esterhuizen
Date: Saturday, November 3
Venue: Twickenham, London
Kick-off: 15.00 (17.00 SA time; 15.00 GMT)
Expected weather: Mostly sunny with no rain, a high of 13°C and a low of 1°. That’s cold.
Referee: Angus Gardner (Australia)
Assistant referees: Jérôme Garcès (France), Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
TMO: Olly Hodges (Ireland)
By Paul Dobson
@rugby365com
