Twickenham will be 'spicy and interesting'
INTERNATIONAL SPOTLIGHT: Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus face a few interesting selection posers for the start of his team’s year-end tour.
The encounter with England, at Twickenham on Saturday, is outside of the international window.
It means players like Willie le Roux (Wasps), Cheslin Kolbe (Toulouse), Francois de Klerk (Sale Sharks), Francois Louw (Bath) and Vincent Koch (Saracens) are not available.
There is also the ongoing confusion surrounding the status of Franco Mostert.
Not surprising then, that the coach – before his team’s departure at the weekend – suggested the Twickenham outing will be ‘spicy and interesting’.
The Springboks have often battled in Europe, because they struggled to adapt in the more structured game plans employed by the Northern Hemisphere teams.
Erasmus said his team, in a pre-tour training camp in Stellenbosch, focussed on tactical issues that England bring to the party – which is totally different from what they experienced against New Zealand, Australia and Argentina in the Rugby Championship.
“This tour to the Northern Hemisphere will be another test of the character of our team,” said Erasmus.
“We are looking forward to facing the challenges posed by England, France, Scotland and Wales.
“You can’t get tempo into the game in that wet weather.
“It is more tactical, the kicking game plays a big role, the high ball plays a big role. You struggle to get intensity into the game.”
The Bok coach said it would be interesting to see how many changes England will make to their game plan from the June Test series – which the Boks won two-one.
“It will be interesting to see how quickly they can adapt to the new coaches in the mix,” he said of new defence coach John Mitchell.
“They haven’t played a Test since they played us [in June].
“I know they have been in camp for two weeks,” he said of England’s stint in Portugal, adding: “It is difficult to change a lot if you don’t play matches.
“[Head coach] Eddie [Jones] is clever and Mitch [John Mitchell] is clever.
“We think there are some things they will throw at us that will be tactically different.
“They will defend different with Mitch being the defence coach.
“They will also know more about us, with Mitch knowing the South African players.
“It is going to be spicy and interesting.
“We will play with a few young players in front of a big [82,000] crowd.
“It will be a good challenge for us.”
By Jan de Koning
@king365ed
@rugby365com
