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Preview: England v South Africa

Friday 21st November 2008

Head to head: The battle of the scrums will once again set the benchmark

It's shaping up to be another titanic battle at Twickenham as last year's World Cup finalists come together for the first time since South Africa's crowning. Warning: This won't be a Test for the faint-hearted.

The world champions could effect a clean sweep of Wales, Scotland and England if they win on Saturday, and if achieved, the English will have suffered two losses in a row - something that is clearly not on manager Martin Johnson's agenda.

England, coming off a resounding 14-28 defeat to southern hemisphere rivals Australia last weekend, will be looking for a more polished performance against their green and gold nemesis. Their ill-discipline will have also been the main focus of team discussions this week - a fault which cost them dear against the Wallabies.

South Africa are also in desperate need of an improved outing, even more so than their hosts, after less than convincing results in Cardiff and Edinburgh. Based on those results alone (20-15 and 14-10), nobody can blame England for having a quiet air of confidence about them as the fatigued Boks limp into town.

Since they won the World Cup, it's been a long and bumpy road for the visitors, where certain players in their ranks have not had a break for a year and a half now and will definitely be a bit tired. They have gone from the highest of highs, almost straight into the Super 14 and then into a really tough Tri-Nations and Currie Cup.

As a result of all the rugby played, coach Peter de Villiers was at his eyebrow-raising best when speaking to the British media earlier this week, believing his side will struggle to find motivation for this weekend's clash.

"Sometimes it's very, very difficult to motivate yourself to stand up and just go on and on and on," he told the media.

"It's always the biggest challenge in rugby to get motivated."

True, their huffing and puffing was evident at the Millennium Stadium as well as Murrayfield, but should not be used as an excuse should De Villiers' first tour of the UK as head coach end in tears. I for one do not pity De Villiers and his tiresome tourists.

Never mind that the Springbok coach had the opportunity to rest players if he felt the need, just as the Australian and New Zealand players were after the Tri-Nations. A player such as Dan Carter didn't take any part in the New Zealand domestic campaign (the Air New Zealand Cup), while the All Blacks and Wallabies aren't blaming fatigue - and their tours contain double the amount of matches.

And with talk of preparing for the upcoming British and Irish Lions tour next year by keeping South Africa's probable XV for that series intact, one can see this plan back-firing in De Villiers' face come the first Test in Durban on June 20. If the players are feeling wear and tear now, imagine how the bodies will cope in seven months time.

Even now, this is not a healthy Springbok side. They don't have the aura of a year ago and it is because they don't have the fitness, confidence, discipline and self-belief of the side that effortlessly arm-wrestled all opposition at the World Cup. They also don't have the intellectual capital in what is a very inexperienced coaching trio.

If however - and this is a very big if - De Villiers' men get the job done, he'll become the first Springbok coach since Nick Mallett (back in 1997) to complete an end-of-year tour unbeaten.

Like the last meeting between these two teams, it's unlikely to be a free-flowing, high-scoring affair. South Africa bossed the tackle point in the World Cup final and as game as the English were, they just didn't have the quality to win that battle.

England are a weaker unit than they were last year, both in terms of personnel and current form. The Springboks are battling for synergy, but have retained a large portion of the group - nine in total (England have three) - that tasted success at the World Cup. On paper, they'll be too strong for England, but at Twickenham, they'll need to muster every ounce of their existing street-smartness, intensity and desire to walk away with the spoils - the same cocktail that was so potent in Paris.

Hurt by criticism last week of their unexpected failure to dominate the Wallaby pack, England will be girding themselves for a physical and passionate onslaught on South Africa at the scrums. Ah, the scrum... Such a vital component in testing a team's strength, and a set-piece that will always set the benchmark towards a winning result.

A shame then that both front rows have taken a serious blow ahead of this match with England's danger man Andrew Sheridan out with a neck injury, and South Africa's number one hooker Bismarck du Plessis, as well as prop Guthro Steenkamp missing in action with injuries of their own.

To make matters worse for the South African tourists, at time of going to press, it appears that Bok prop Brian Mujati had also failed a fitness test and would be replaced by Leinster's CJ van der Linde.

But the show must go on and the hosts will be hoping to get over their own mishaps and exploit any vulnerabilities caused by the injury enforced merry-go-round in the Springbok front row.

Australia brought the curtain down on England come scrum time last week, and the men in white deserved all the stick dished out from their critics. Whilst it was a bitter pill to swallow for the likes of Phil Vickery, Lee Mears and Sheridan, South Africa will pose a different problem and England are going to have to step it up - especially with their first choice loosehead out of the mix.

The Springboks love to scrum, they take it as a pushing contest and that's exactly what the English heavies should come to expect come the calls of 'crouch, touch, pause, engage!' from Welsh referee Nigel Owens. South Africa take pride in their props and hookers, whereas in England they love their golden boy fly-halves.

Playing South Africa is about physical confrontation. England have not necessarily always been there in that department and will need to add a bit more muscle to achieve their desired result.

However England would have sat up and taken notice of the way Scotland surprised South Africa last weekend with the way their forwards took it to the feared South African pack. The Scots showed them absolutely no respect as they tore into the big names in the touring unit from the kick-off.

It has always been an England strength, but they surely will take some inspiration into this match from the way their Northern Hemisphere neighbours man-handled South Africa in the scrums.

The Springboks, of course, have held sway over England in recent years, with victories in France and South Africa. However the English fortress still remains a tough nut to crack and it took South Africa nine years to get rid of their Twickenham bogey.

Many of the senior players were rested when former South Africa coach Jake White brought an under-strength team to play two Tests in London in 2006, the second of which was won by the Springboks, with that defeat precipitating the axeing of England coach Andy Robinson.

Since then, South Africa have won five in a row, but don't need reminding that before this run, had lost seven in a row to England, so will have two more wins to go before they make amends for that sequence.

Senior players like Bakkies Botha, Victor Matfield and Schalk Burger have never won a Test match at Twickenham, and have lost quite a few, so it is very much a box they would like to tick.

Ones to watch:

For England: With a daunting prospect of two consecutive Twickenham losses facing him and his team, never before will the leadership of Steve Borthwick be tested. Not only will the English skipper's mettle be pushed to the limit, his own game will also need a massive lift following an average outing against Australia. Words don't always cut it, and an inspirational performance in all facets of play will be crucial and beneficial to how the rest of his troops rally around him from beginning to end.

For South Africa: It sounds unheard of, but Bryan Habana - last year's IRB Player of the Year - will need to return to form double time or face another long day at the office. His decline is alarming and if he is not injured then it must rank as among the more dramatic reversals of form ever witnessed. Currently he can't catch a ball, run a support line or even make an intercept count, and to see a novice Scottish winger beat him on the outside, much as Welsh wizard Shane Williams did earlier this season, is more mystifying than it is embarrassing for Habana. His confidence needs a massive boost, and against England, he has a chance to make amends.

Head to head: The front row. We've said it before, but one can't stress enough this crucial component on Saturday - the scrums. Both sides struggled against their respective opponents at the weekend, but conventional wisdom suggests that the experienced English front row (even with Sheridan's absence) will have the upper hand. Yes, Vickery and company were made to eat humble pie by the Australians, but the disruption of South Africa's front row - having lost both Bismarck du Plessis, Gurthro Steenkamp and possibly Brian Mujati - suggests that the world champs will be at a slight disadvantage. South Africa's loose trio will also be urged to attack Danny Cipriani's channel, as given time and space on attack, the England wonderkid has shown that he does possess the repertoire of skills to hurt the opposition. Robbed of those elements, he becomes a distinctly ordinary player. Furthermore the Wasps pivot has shown himself to be a defensive liability against the world's elite nations. At Twickenham the muscle cars that are Schalk Burger, Danie Rossouw and Pierre Spies should regularly scream up Cipriani Avenue in order to halt any English momentum.

Previous results:

2007: South Africa won 15-6 at Stade de France, Paris (RWC)
2007: South Africa won 36-0 at Stade de France, Paris (RWC)
2007: South Africa won 55-22 at Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
2007: South Africa won 58-10 at Vodacom Park, Bloemfontein
2006: South Africa won 25-14 at Twickenham, London
2006: England won 23-21 at Twickenham, London
2004: England won 32-16 at Twickenham, London
2003: England won 25-6 at Subiaco Oval, Perth (RWC)
2002: England won 53-3 at Twickenham, London
2001: England won 29-9 at Twickenham, London
2000: England won 25-17 at Twickenham, London
2000: England won 27-22 at Vodacom Park, Bloemfontein

Prediction: The Springboks have played two, won two and no doubt would love to go home with three wins under their belts. But while South Africa do seem to have the momentum, at the same time you can never underestimate that England at home are completely different. After the Australian loss, Martin Johnson's men will be really up for this game. Miserable weather is forecast for Saturday, and although the rain should not affect proceedings the bitter cold and wind could emulate last week's fixture at Murrayfield. England to win by four points.

The teams:

England: 15 Delon Armitage, 14 Paul Sackey, 13 Jamie Noon, 12 Riki Flutey, 11 Ugo Monye, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Danny Care, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Tom Rees, 6 James Haskell, 5 Tom Palmer, 4 Steve Borthwick (c), 3 Phil Vickery, 2 Lee Mears, 1 Tim Payne.
Replacements: 16 Dylan Hartley, 17 Matt Stevens, 18 Simon Shaw, 19 Tom Croft, 20 Jordan Crane, 21 Harry Ellis, 22 Toby Flood.

South Africa: 15 Conrad Jantjes, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Adrian Jacobs, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Ruan Pienaar, 9 Ricky Januarie, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Danie Rossouw, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 John Smit (c), 1 Beast Mtawarira,
Replacements: 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 Brian Mujati/CJ van der Linde, 18 Andries Bekker, 19 Ryan Kankowski, 20 Heinrich Brussow, 21 Francois Steyn, 22 Jaque Fourie

Date: Saturday, November 22
Venue: Twickenham
Kick-off: 14:30 GMT
Forecast: High of 5�C, reaching a low of 3�C with a moderate breeze
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Touch judges: Alan Rolland (Ireland), Romain Poite (France)
Television match official: Peter Allan (Scotland)
Assessor: Tappe Henning (South Africa)

By Dave Morris