Boks expect to face charged-up England in Nations Champs opener

Springbok assistant coach Mzwandile Stick and captain Siya Kolisi on Friday said they are expecting to face a charged-up England outfit when the sides meet in their opening Nations Championship encounter at Ellis Park on Saturday and suggested it would be a proper grind of a game.

The Springboks might be ranked first in the world and England sixth but both Kolisi and Stick said that would have no significance when the teams line up against one another in Johannesburg. The match kicks off at 5.40pm and will be broadcast live on SuperSport.

“If you look at their rewarding performances from their club players and a guy like Finn Smith at 10 ahead of an experienced player like George Ford, they’ll bring a lot of energy,” said Stick.

“Their backline has players with massive speed and an X-factor, so those players will bring it.

“That said, we've also prepared well and we know it’s going to be a tough game. Matches between us mainly start up front, and England take pride in how they operate there, so we'll make sure we get our boys ready because it’s going to be a massive Test. They also have a strong kicking game, so it will be a challenge but we'll be prepared.”

Zooming into what exactly they expected from the English, Stick said: “They can kick the ball and they are strong in the contestable game, while they have Smith, who can attack, and backs who have shown they can run. I also have no doubt they would have worked on their set pieces as well because they've always been strong there.”

With home ground advantage and their placing in the world rankings favouring the Boks, Kolisi shot down suggestions that his charges were the outright favourites to win.

“We listen to our coaches and we know what it feels like to be beaten,” said Kolisi.

“We never walk into any match feeling like we're definitely going to win. If we did, we wouldn't have prepared the way we prepared this week. We've seen what England have done in Tests before and we know the form they're in, so we are in a strong mindset as a team.

“Playing against them is always a big deal. They always pitch up and we’re excited because we know how big it's going to be for them and for us as well.”

Of the prospect of facing Tom Curry in their loose trio, Kolisi said: “He's one of the toughest guys I've ever played against. I remember since 2018 and then in the 2019 Rugby World Cup Final too. He's a special human being and I love playing against him. Tomorrow's going to be no different.”

When quizzed about the pressure on the Springboks going into the match, Kolisi said: “There's always pressure. You'd be silly to feel comfortable. But I think that's what keeps us going.”

England may have come off a disappointing Six Nations campaign but Kolisi said that would not cloud their judgement about them as a top-quality team.

“We’ve analysed them and results-wise, I don't think we can take too much from their Six Nations campaign because if you look at their last game against France, they almost won it in the final seconds, and France is one of the best teams in the world,” said Kolisi.

“They are going to be psyched up for this match and will pitch up physically. They almost took us out of the (2023) World Cup in the semi-final and something we learned from that game is that if you don't execute your plan very well against England, they have the potential to punish you.

“They are physically aggressive, even under the high balls. So, whatever they've done in the past won’t matter. What will make the difference is if we pitch up. We know they're in a good mental space and several players are in form for their clubs, so they’ll bring good energy. If we don't pitch up and execute in the set pieces and in our kicking game, we're going to be in trouble.”

Meanwhile, SA Rugby has stated that "Predictions that the attendance would be little more than 21 000 were entirely erroneous and misinformed.

"SA Rugby hopes to get close to the historic average against England in SA of 91% of the stadiums’ capacity in a market in which tickets are on sale for four Test matches and two provincial matches against the touring All Blacks.

"Assertions of lack of interest are unfounded and not supported by the actual sales data".

Springbok starting XV: 15 Damian Willemse, 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 (capt); 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Eben Etzebeth; 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Ox Nche. Replacements: 16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Zach Porthen, 19 Marco van Staden, 20 Cameron Hanekom, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Andre Esterhuizen, 23 Canan Moodie.

England starting XV: 15 George Furbank, 14 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, 13 Tommy Freeman, 12 Seb Atkinson, 11 Cadan Murley; 10 Fin Smith, 9 Jack van Poortvliet; 8 Ben Earl, 7 Tom Curry, 6 Ollie Chessum: 5 George Martin, 4 Alex Coles; 3 Joe Heyes, 2 Jamie George (capt), 1 Ellis Genge. Replacements: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Beno Obano, 18 Asher Opoku-Fordjour, 19 Charlie Ewels, 20 Guy Pepper, 21 Henry Pollock, 22 Alex Mitchell, 23 Marcus Smith.

South Africa v England @ 10bet Ellis Park, Johannesburg (5.40pm)

Referee: James Doleman (NZR)

Assistant Referees: Andrew Brace (IRFU), Pierre Brousset (FFR)

Television Match Official: Richard Kelly (NZR)

Split Screen/FPRO: Olly Hodges (IRFU)