The Springbok starting XV for this Saturday’s clash against England shows 12 changes to the team that defeated Scotland 32-15 last weekend, but it is arguably the strongest side that has been selected this year.
With a powerful pack and an incredibly exciting backline, not to mention an experienced ‘bomb squad’, it’s clear that the Springboks will accept nothing less than a victory on Saturday.
Kick off is at 19:40 (SA time).
In the last six meetings between the teams, each has recorded three wins, so Rassie Erasmus said he anticipated another arm wrestle: “England beat us three times out of four recently and we’ve only won three of the last six matches against them, so we have great respect for them, and we’ll certainly not underestimate them.
As I said on Sunday, we will be facing a desperate England team that will give everything on Saturday, so the consistency in our player combinations will be vital for us to deliver the quality of the performance we would like to.
“It’s going to be vital for the players to gel quickly so hopefully we can start off strongly because we are expecting a full-out 80-minute battle.
“They are playing at home in front of a passionate home crowd, and we know they will give everything to turn their Autumn Series around, so we believe it’s going to be a hard match until the final whistle,” he added.
Teams for the Springboks-England Test at Twickehnham:
England: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Henry Slade, 11 Ollie Sleightholme, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Jack van Poortvliet, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Chandler Cunningham-South, 5 George Martin, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Will Stuart, 2 Jamie George (captain), 1 Ellis Genge.
Replacements: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Fin Baxter, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Nick Isiekwe, 20 Alex Dombrandt; 21 Harry Randall, 22 George Ford, 23 Tom Roebuck.
South Africa: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 RG Snyman, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche.
Replacements: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Elrigh Louw, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Handre Pollard, 23 Lukhanyo Am.
Date: Saturday, November 16
Venue: Twickenham Stadium, London
Kick-off: 17:40 (17:40 GMT; 19:40 SAST)
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Chris Busby (Ireland), Eoghan Cross (Ireland)
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
What is your score prediction?
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