England coach ‘super impressed’ by ‘evolved’ Springboks
Springboks flyhalf Manie Libbok and England attack coach Richard Wigglesworth.
England attack coach Richard Wigglesworth spoke highly of the Springboks and their coaching staff ahead of the Rugby World Cup semi-final on Saturday.
England face the defending world champions in a replay of the 2019 Rugby World Cup final to decide who progresses to the showpiece event.
England written off
Ahead of the clash, Wigglesworth praised South Africa for their innovation and growth as a team but was not worried about being written off by pundits and fans ahead of the clash.
“We know the stakes are high,” the former scrum-half said. “We have to treat this as a game by itself and not play what next week might bring, so we’re fully focused on playing one of the best teams in the world.
“It is a World Cup semi-final. There’s no way you go into that game without feeling something. That’s a good thing.
“As for being written off, that’s been the case for a while now.”
Wigglesworth added that the Springboks were seemingly handling the pressure of the tournament well.
“If there is [pressure on them], they have shown that they can deal with it,” he said.
“They have dealt with it at the last World Cup and in numerous games, so it is not something we are clinging on to.
“I’m super impressed with them as an outfit. They have evolved a bit but without changing their DNA, which is, as we know, very physical, a good kicking game on the back of a rush defence.
“It’s stuff that we are going to have to deal with, but we need to make sure that we’re giving them some food for thought as well.”
Springboks identity
South Africa’s style of play, focusing on the set-pieces and kicking game, is regularly criticised, but Wigglesworth believes that it’s good for the game that there are different approaches from teams.
“I don’t think anyone should ever apologise for being who you are and having your identity,” he said.
“Sometimes it feels like that people want an apology and for everybody to play the same way. Rugby is brilliant because of all the different styles, and they all work if you get it right on the day. We need our style to work for us.”
Jacques Nienaber’s side have shifted their approach depending on their opposition throughout the tournament, and Wigglesworth believes that the Boks will throw something different at his side in the semi-final.
“I’m sure with the smarts of their coaching team, they will throw stuff at us,” he explained.
“Will that be what wins or loses the game? Probably not. It will be the big bits of the game, and then they will give those nuances a chance.
“I wouldn’t like to guess what they will do because I know they watch everything we do in here, so I wouldn’t want to give them a head start.”
England’s togetherness
While the assistant coach believes it will be a tough task against South Africa, he adds that the team is building well together and will be up to the task.
“Hopefully, we are creating that feeling of togetherness,” he added.
“The longer we are together, the more battles we go through as a group, the tighter we should become, and there’s no bigger test of that than this weekend.
“They should take a lot of confidence from what they have done so far, managing to win the tight ones.
“We know the size of the challenge in front of us. On Saturday night, we need to give the best of us, and I’m sure we will.”