England v Springboks preview: Rassie Erasmus’ powerhouse pack to ‘torment’ Steve Borthwick and leave the RFU with a decision to make
England head coach Steve Borthwick and Springboks boss Rassie Erasmus as Maro Itoje and Eben Etzebeth battle.
Ireland’s clash with the All Blacks was deemed a grudge match but, when England face off with South Africa, that may be taken to another level at Twickenham.
It is fair to say these two teams don’t like each other very much, especially after the Bongi Mbonambi-Tom Curry saga, which saw the Englishman accuse his opponent of racially abusing him.
That led to a pretty ugly week following that Rugby World Cup semi-final and it will no doubt be in the back of the players’ minds ahead of this encounter.
On that day, it was the Springboks who emerged triumphant following a 16-15 success, which was the second of three consecutive one-point wins in the Rugby World Cup knockout stages. Rassie Erasmus would concede himself that they were fortunate to be on the right side of the scoreline, given that the Red Rose were 15-6 in front with just over 10 minutes remaining.
But it was Mbonambi’s front-row partner, Ox Nche, that turned the tide last year and they both start on Saturday as they seek to once again torment the English pack. Those scrum worries have not gone away for Steve Borthwick and, against the best set-piece in the world, they could be in for a torrid evening.
Borthwick needs a stellar performance from his forward eight as he is a man under pressure after four consecutive defeats. Granted, three of those were against the All Blacks, but it is the manner of the losses which have frustrated the team and fans alike.
While their performances have been reasonably good – in fact, good enough to win those three New Zealand matches – they have succumbed in exactly the same way, a theme which began in that infamous semi-final last year.
Not even a clash with the struggling Wallabies could change things as a last-minute try from Max Jorgensen allowed the visitors to leave Twickenham with a shock victory.
Confidence must be low in the England camp and the Boks are arguably the worst team to face in this scenario, especially when the tourists’ motivation will be sky-high after last year’s fallout. It is a Springboks side in fine fettle following an excellent 2024 so far and they will relish the opportunity to add to Borthwick’s pain.
While it is understood that the head coach retains the RFU’s backing, a heavy defeat against the Springboks could change all that.
Where the game will be won
In 2023, England produced a game plan that put the Springboks under real pressure, but it started in the front five. Their scrum held up nicely in the first half, while the locks were excellent as they forced Erasmus’ men to make errors. However, once Nche came on, that all changed and South Africa got the upper hand as they edged into the World Cup final.
The Boks loosehead’s role has altered slightly this year with the prop now a regular starter, but his task will be exactly the same – to absolutely smash the English tighthead(s). That scrum will be handed a severe examination but, if the hosts pass it, then they have a chance. The issue is that we don’t have faith in the four props, especially the reserves, Fin Baxter and Dan Cole, who have been bested by both the All Blacks and Wallabies this month.
England will certainly need to keep it away from the set-piece and that is likely to mean plenty of kicking in-field, allowing their wings to chase. It is an area they got real joy out of in the World Cup as the shorter Kurt-Lee Arendse and Cheslin Kolbe struggled against the Red Rose back three. There is no Jonny May and Elliot Daly this time around, but Tommy Freeman is excellent under the high ball and the inclusion of Freddie Steward will also help them in that facet.
If they kick badly, however, South Africa have so much threat on the counter, while they are also willing to chance their arm more since the arrival of attack guru Tony Brown. Although the traditional Boks strengths remain, there is no doubt that they have looked to expand their game in 2024 and, as a result, Erasmus’ outfit have become an even greater side. The visitors will certainly focus on the scrum, maul and contact area but, equally, there is a willingness to put width on the ball, which could expose England’s shambolic blitz defence.
Last time they met
What they said
England wing Freeman is in a bullish mood ahead of their game with the Springboks, send out a warning to their opponents prior to the Twickenham clash.
“Whatever [South Africa] bring at us, we will deliver back even harder,” he told reporters.
“We probably have this perception of being the underdogs from the outside but we are focusing on ourselves. We know if we deliver our game plan, give 100 per cent, we’ll get the result.
“It is always tough to lose at Twickenham and in such fine margins it’s even tougher. We have touched on the missed tackles and there is an onus on us individually.
“We will definitely be stepping that up this week and hopefully putting South Africa under pressure.”
Springboks head coach Erasmus revealed why he named two completely different XVs for the Scotland and England clashes, and is not taking the hosts for granted this weekend.
“England poses a completely different challenge to Scotland, and we selected our squad based on what we would like to do in the match and also what we think will be best to counter the challenge England poses,” he said.
“Fortunately, we have quite a few players who can switch positions if necessary, so we feel we have adequate depth throughout the team, which allowed us to select this group of replacements.
“England come off two narrow defeats, but the quality of their performances was good in both matches, so we sized up the challenge.
“We lost narrowly to Ireland and France in back-to-back matches in 2022 and a year later were world champions so we know we shouldn’t read anything into the last two results.”
Players to watch
In an interview earlier this week, Eben Etzebeth was asked about his record against Maro Itoje, which currently stands at 5-3 in the Springbok’s favour, so the England lock will look to eat into that lead this weekend. It is often a battle which defines this contest and these two will once again be important for their respective sides. They are key cogs in the set-piece and also do much of their work at close quarters, so watch out for some fireworks at Twickenham.
Itoje in particular will need to support his front-row, both in the scrum and the lineout, where he will be connecting with captain Jamie George. It must be an incredibly difficult situation for the current skipper, who is an excellent player, a superb leader and a great man, and he will need to display all those qualities once again on Saturday. You do wonder whether England lack leadership in his absence and that it is contributing to their late losses, given that he very rarely goes 80 minutes.
Behind the scrum, Borthwick has made three changes, bringing in Ollie Sleightholme, Jack van Poortvliet and Freddie Steward. Van Poortvliet is an excellent kicker while Steward is world-class in the air, so it is easy to see what England will be doing this weekend. With Tommy Freeman also in the back three, they have the prowess to challenge the Springboks under the high ball.
They will also need to be vastly better defensively. The Boks may not be quite as expansive as the Wallabies, nor will they play at that incredibly fast tempo in phase play, but they are still a much bigger attacking threat this year and have pace to burn in the wider channels, which is why Henry Slade needs to be so much better. Slade had an abysmal game defensively last weekend and simply has to improve his decision-making this weekend.
If not then Grant Williams and Manie Libbok will enjoy finding holes in the opposition rearguard, whether that is for themselves or their lighting quick outside backs. That half-back combination is an interesting call from Erasmus considering that Jaden Hendrikse started their final Rugby Championship match against Argentina. That, of course, came a week after Libbok missed a match-winning penalty, which meant Hendrikse took on place-kicking responsibilities to relieve the pressure on the fly-half.
Has the Stormers star therefore regained the kicking role or will someone like Cheslin Kolbe do it instead? Kolbe is the only other potential option in that starting backline, although they do have Handre Pollard in reserve after reverting to the more traditional 5-3 bench split. The outstanding wing has caused England plenty of problems before, including famously in the 2019 World Cup final, and he could well provide a dual threat at Twickenham.
However, it is up front where the hosts could really feel the squeeze and especially the front-row. It is a big game for Wilco Louw, who has come from nowhere to start for the Boks for the first time in three years. It is thoroughly deserved for someone who has played continuously well at club level for the past few seasons, but it is a huge call for such a big match. Louw does have plenty of experience alongside him, though, including Bongi Mbonambi, who will be fired up after his run-in with Tom Curry last year.
Main head-to-head
No scrum, no win as the saying goes and Will Stuart somehow needs to keep Ox Nche in check. He is not a top-class tighthead at the moment but Stuart has, to his credit, enjoyed a good few months in an England shirt. The Bath powerhouse did well in New Zealand and then got the better of Tamaiti Williams in the recent All Blacks clash. The 28-year-old followed that up by being good in all areas against the Wallabies.
However, Saturday will a huge step up against probably the best scrummaging prop in the world. After playing a crucial role in the Springboks’ 2023 World Cup triumph, Nche has not suffered a dip in form and was outstanding as Erasmus’ men claimed the Rugby Championship title for the first time since 2019. While the impact of the bench may well be the deciding factor in the end result, the starters will set the tone and, if Stuart cannot handle his opponent, then England can forget about causing an upset.
Prediction
It would be the ultimate irony should the team that specialises in late defeats somehow manage to overcome the king of the one-pointers, particularly in a close match, but we can’t see it happening. England have the type of team that can keep it closer at the end in comparison to Scotland, but South Africa should be securing a second successive victory. Springboks by 10 points.
Previous results
2023: South Africa won 16-15 in Paris
2022: South Africa won 27-13 in London
2021: England won 27-26 in London
2019: South Africa won 32-12 in Yokohama
2018: England won 12-11 in London
2018: England won 25-10 in Cape Town
2018: South Africa won 23-12 in Bloemfontein
2018: South Africa won 42-39 in Johannesburg
2016: England won 37-21 in London
2014: South Africa won 31-28 in London
The teams
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, 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 (c), 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: Allianz Stadium, Twickenham
Kick-off: 17:40 GMT (19:40 SAST)
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: Chris Busby (Ireland), Eoghan Cross (Ireland)
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
