England will be looking to avoid yet another defeat at the hands of southern hemisphere opposition when they take on world number one Springboks at Twickenham on Saturday evening. Darry Worthington previews.
Autumn Nations Series
England v South Africa
Saturday 16 November – 17:40
Twickenham, London
Neither of these sides were at their best last weekend, with the Boks beating Scotland 32-15 in a match in which the scoreline flattered them. England, meanwhile, delivered a bit of a defensive disaster class, shipping a heap of points in their 42-37 loss against the Wallabies.
To Win Match
England 23/10 | Draw 20/1 | South Africa 4/11
It’s been a harrowing fortnight for England head coach Steve Borthwick who has seen his side go down twice in dramatic fashion. Their first defeat saw a late Mark Tele’a, alongside George Ford’s even later penalty and drop goal misses gift New Zealand victory, while an injury-time try from Aussie replacement Max Jorgensen cost them this past weekend.
While the English did put up a fight in both these games, one has to wonder whether their tactics were right? They had the Aussies on the ropes at times but then opted to go back into their shells and play the percentages while against New Zealand, they failed to press home their advantage at line out time. The pressure is certainly on Borthwick headed into this one with his side only registering four wins from the ten fixtures they have played this year.
While England tasted defeat yet again, it was business as usual for the Boks who made it nine wins from 11 starts in 2024 as they beat Scotland 15-32 at Murrayfield this past Sunday. It wasn’t vintage display from the South Africans who were only four points clear of Gregor Townend’s men with just under 20 minutes of the game left. One did sense that they had control of the game, however, and they eased through the gears in the final quarter to score 13 unanswered points.
As expected, Rassie Erasmus has made wholesale changes to the side that did duty against Scotland, with 12 changes in all. The biggest surprise sees Wilco Louw start at tighthead prop, with the Bulls man’s last appearance coming back in 2021. The only starters from Scotland who keep their places are Eben Etzebeth and his Hollywoodbets Sharks teammates in the front row, Ox Nche and Bongi Mbonambi.
The entire starting backline changes, with the electric combo of Grant Williams and Manie Libbok at 9 and 10. The rest of the backline picks itself really, with Damian de Allende, Jessie Kriel, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Cheslin Kolbe and Aphelele Fassi all starting.
The big news in the England camp is the return of Freddie Steward. The Leicester full-back is a monster under the high ball and will need to match his performance in the 2023 World Cup semi-final to negate the aerial challenge posed by the Boks.
Both Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Tom Curry will be absent after picking up injuries against Australia. Jan van Poortvliet comes in for Ben Spencer at scrumhalf after a disappointing showing against the Wallabies.
Chandler Cunningham-South will start at blindside flank with Tom Curry at openside. Ben Earl will pack down at eight. The trio must be at their dynamic best to counter the all-star loose trio of the Springboks.
Verdict: South Africa (-7.5) 87/100
While the two sides played out a narrow thriller when they met last at the World Cup, I can’t see that happening here. The Springbok attacking game has evolved while England’s defence has stagnated. My money is on the Boks tearing their hosts apart here.
