VIDEO: No talk of revenge as England gear up for Bok clash

While England will back themselves to go toe-to-toe with the Springboks in the Nations Championship opener at Ellis Park on Saturday, the visitors still have huge respect for the two-time World Cup winners.

That is according to loose forward Ben Earl, who spoke candidly to the media at England’s base camp in Johannesburg on Monday.

Quizzed on several topics ranging from the team’s adventures since arriving in South Africa to his opinion on the current state of English cricket, Earl provided an insight into how the England camp was thinking ahead of the highly anticipated blockbuster.

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Much of the talking point leading up to the match has centred around the Springboks being dubbed favourites, and Rassie Erasmus’s squad selection reinforced those views.

The Boks’ record against England speaks for itself, and they’ve got the better of Steve Borthwick’s side four times in their last five meetings.

England will also head into the clash on the back of a poor showing in this year’s Six Nations campaign, which saw them finish fifth, with one victory in five outings.

The newly formed Nations Championship could be the breath of fresh air they need, and instead of focusing on the Boks, Earl says they are approaching the Test with a different view and have opted to focus internally.

“We are playing the number one team in the world; they are an amazing team, and there’s loads of respect,” he told a media scrum.

“It’s an amazing occasion. Ellis Park is one of the grounds that, as a rugby player, when you get the chance to play for your country, it’s one of those that you would love to play at, and thankfully we get a chance to do that this weekend.

“We are going to try and focus on how we want to play. We will speak a little bit about South Africa, but we have spent a lot of time thinking about how we want to go about our work.

“It’s a great challenge for us, and it’s one of those bucket list moments for a lot of us, playing the best team in the world in one of the best stadiums in the world.”

Earl has been on the receiving end of some tough results against the Boks in recent years.

The 51-capped forward was involved when they narrowly lost the World Cup semifinal 15-16 in France in 2023 and also featured in the last meeting between the two sides, which ended 29-20 in favour of South Africa in 2024.

While there could be temptation to settle a personal score, the Saracens player is shying away from turning the match into a quest for revenge.

“They’ve given me a fair bit of hurt, and I can’t deny that,” he said, chuckling.

“But the moment you do that [play to settle a score], you might not get the best out of yourself; it might do, I don’t know, but for me, my big drive is contributing to the team.

“This team has been through a lot, and I’ve been through a lot with this team, and that’s been my main drive.

“The moment you start playing like that, you start playing a dangerous game.”

Despite collapsing in the early stages of the Six Nations, England finished the tournament with a strong performance against France.

They were unlucky not to walk away with the win and pushed the eventual winners all the way in a thriller that ended 48-46.
Earl said that’s a performance they would like to build on and continue to grow as a side.

“I think a lot has been made of that game, and rightfully so because I think we played well.

“We did also concede 48 points, and you’re not going to win a lot of test matches conceding 48 points.

“It was an amazing game, and France was an amazing team.

“We saw different parts of our game coming together during the Six Nations campaign.

There were moments where we were off it, and there’s no denying that in the Ireland game and parts of the Scotland game.

“We as a team grew, and there was clarity about how we wanted to play.”