The Springboks are gearing up for a big onslaught from England in their final Castle Lager Outgoing Tour match at Twickenham on Saturday, and assistant coach Deon Davids said that they expected the hosts to bring something different to the other teams they have faced on tour.
The Boks arrived in London on Sunday and got their on-field preparations going on Monday, and Davids was excited to see what the new players in the group would bring after Marco van Staden (flanker), Thomas du Toit, Ntuthuko Mchunu (both props), Grant Williams (scrumhalf), Johan Goosen (utility back) and Canan Moodie (wing) joined the team following the departure of the six UK and European-based club players.
“This is an important game for us, England are a quality team and Test matches here are always big contests, so we know what we are in for,” said Davids.
“We have a great group of players and we are excited to have some of the players from the SA ‘A’ squad back with us and to give a few players a chance to show what they can do in this match.
“The players coming in were part of a bigger group that have had experience at Test level with some having played for the SA ‘A’ team, while there are also some experience players in the squad that we know that that can do the job for us.”
Springbok lock Marvin Orie, who is in the selection mix this week after starting against Italy last week, was thrilled about the opportunity to face England this weekend and said it’s a big privilege to be involved with the with the national team.
“The competition within the squad at lock and in other positions is very good, and this makes the team stronger and increases the level of competition and performance from everyone involved. It’s definitely healthy for team,” said Orie.
Springbok assistant coach Deon Davids.
Commenting on the threat the hosts posed under the guidance of head coach Eddie Jones, Davids said the experienced England coach “always has something up his sleeve”.
“I don’t think it would be any different this week,” said Davids.
“So we have to be spot on in terms of our focus and how we react to the challenges they will bring in the different departments. We are preparing for a very a very tough encounter.”
Davids added: “The margins between the top tier nations are very narrow as we have seen, so the big thing is we know it won’t be over until the final whistle. I think both teams will always fight right until the end looking at our character and approach, so we have to stay focused.”
With the England forwards looming large, Orie said they had to be spot on in the set pieces, mauls, and breakdowns.
“The mauls are one of the technical and dynamic areas of the game, so just like the scrums and breakdowns, we’ll look to improve in that area of the game,” said Orie.
“England are different to the other sides we have faced, and they will bring a different challenge.”
Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber will name his team for the clash on Tuesday.
