Springboks address ‘compressed week’ concerns and England form ahead of Autumn Nations Series clash
Cobus Reinach spoke to the media ahead of the England v Springboks clash.
Scrum-half Cobus Reinach admits “there is history” between the Springboks and England ahead of their Autumn Nations Series clash at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham.
The sides last met during the 2023 Rugby World Cup and it was at the semi-final stage where South Africa came out on top thanks to a come-from-behind 16-15 victory.
Since then the Springboks have gone from strength to strength after lifting the Webb Ellis Cup and followed that up this year with Rugby Championship silverware.
‘Special game’
In contrast, England are enduring a difficult period in terms of results, with Steve Borthwick’s struggling side having lost six out of their last 10 international matches.
Reinach, though, is expecting to face a wounded animal this weekend as he looks ahead to the game and recalled their 2023 semi-final clash when talking to the media.
“Every Test match is a special game and has its own rivalry, although our last match against England was close in the World Cup semi-final, and then of course we faced them in the 2019 Rugby World Cup final, so there is history between the teams,” said the Boks scrum-half, who did not play in last week’s win over Scotland.
“We definitely expect to face a team wanting to win this weekend, especially after suffering defeats in their last two games, so the important thing for us will be to stick to our structures and focus on what we want to do on the field.”
South Africa enter Saturday’s showdown at Twickenham off a six-day turnaround but that is something that excites Reinach as he offered a positive in-house update.
“Obviously this is a compressed week for us, but the players are looking good, and meetings have been going well, so we’ll certainly prepare well for the Test this weekend,” he said.
Thursday team
Rassie Erasmus will announce his squad for the Test on Thursday and assistant coach Tony Brown admitted his boss “always has an overall plan in mind” for England.
“It’s always tough with a short turnaround because you lose a training day, so the players need to adapt,” said Brown.
“That said, we are doing our best to ensure that they are fresh physically and mentally for the match.”
