Category: South Africa Rugby

• Slade says squad won’t change mindset on Saturday
• England have slipped to seventh in world rankings

England are looking to banish their autumn frustrations at South Africa’s expense this Saturday and have vowed “not to shut up shop” against the reigning world champions. Successive defeats by New Zealand and Australia have dropped Steve Borthwick’s side to seventh in the world rankings but the players insist they can confound expectations and turn their month around.

Rather than ditching the high-risk defensive system that has so far conceded eight tries in two games this month, England intend to double down and be even more aggressive with and without the ball in their first rematch against the Springboks since last year’s agonising World Cup semi-final defeat.

Continue reading...

Despite having one day less than England to prepare, South Africa hope Bomb Squad can give impression of strength

When Rassie Erasmus does something out of the ordinary it is usually for a reason, so his surprising decision to put the team doctor up to face the press on Tuesday was no doubt a calculated move. The message was clear, and has been since full-time against Scotland: the Springboks are fresh. And they evidently want everyone to know it.

Equally, you suspect they are not very happy about having a six-day turnaround before facing England. New Zealand made light work of theirs last week but as the all-conquering back-to-back world champions, perhaps it is necessary to engineer perceived slights against yourselves.

Continue reading...

• ‘We are going to go properly after them,’ insists wing
• Springboks are world champions but ‘not unbeatable’

The England wing Tommy Freeman has insisted that all-conquering South Africa are only human and vowed Steve Borthwick’s side will take the fight to the Springboks on Saturday.

After four straight defeats and six in seven against tier-one opposition, England face the daunting task of welcoming the back-to-back world champions to Twickenham. England’s last-gasp defeat by Australia saw Borthwick’s side slip to seventh in the world rankings while the Springboks returned to the summit after their 32-15 win over Scotland.

Continue reading...

• Springboks head coach expects ‘very, very tough game’
• England looking for first win of Autumn Nations Series

Rassie Erasmus expects England to bring a sense of frustration to their match against South Africa on Saturday and labelled them “desperate” for a win after two defeats from two in their autumn campaign.

Erasmus’s world champions returned to the world No 1 ranking with a patchy 32-15 victory over Scotland on Sunday as they kicked off their own run of Tests in the northern hemisphere. They now travel to Twickenham to take on Steve Borthwick’s side, who are reeling after suffering two late losses to New Zealand and Australia, 24-22 and 42-37, respectively, having expected to win both on home soil.

Continue reading...

There will be no love lost between rivals in reruns of World Cup pool matches also including Wales against Fiji

A 50-point frolic against the Fiji second team this will not be. Scotland welcome the Springboks, champions of the southern hemisphere, champions of the world, champions of the sort of rugby to make grown men cower, to Edinburgh on Sunday – and they know this is when it gets ­horribly serious.

It has been faintly amusing, faintly absurd, to watch South Africa’s head coach, Rassie Erasmus, try to mount a charm offensive during the week, all touchy-feely, we-want-to-be-loved one minute, all seven-one-split-on-the-bench, hear-our-roar the next. The Springboks know how to win rugby matches; it seems winning hearts is their next directive.

Continue reading...

Admiration rather than adulation follows South Africa but their controversial coach is launching a charm offensive

South Africa are mounting a charm offensive this autumn. They have won the last two World Cups, their 2021 series against the British & Irish Lions and, in September, clinched a first Rugby Championship title since 2019. Listen to Rassie Erasmus, however, and it is clear the Springboks believe hearts and minds still elude them.

Outside of South Africa, at least. At home they are deified, most of all Erasmus, but the head coach believes that, in the eyes of the rest of the watching world, they are tarred as the villains of the piece. “It has been years, from the Bakkies Botha era, that we are bullies who don’t really care what people think,” he says. “But we do. I care what people think about the players because they are very good guys.”

Continue reading...