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Though a dominant Springbok side have held the whip hand over England in recent years, previous form will count for little when the bitter foes clash in Johannesburg on Saturday, coach Rassie Erasmus says.
History has shown that England can never be written off, and Erasmus says there will be no complacency in the Bok ranks for the opening game in the Nations Championship at Ellis Park (kickoff 5.40pm).
The Springboks have won their past three games against England and will be favourites to extend that run at a ground regarded as their spiritual home.
A wary Erasmus, however, has warned that if any arrogant complacency creeps into the Bok ranks, it will come back to bite them.
“I was playing when Jannie de Beer kicked five drop goals at the Stade de France in the 1999 World Cup, and we won and went through to the quarterfinals, and England didn’t,” he said.
“But make no mistake, they have taken some glory away from us.”
In 2002 the Boks suffered a humbling 53-3 loss against their old enemies at Twickenham.
“We had a World Cup final against them in 2019, and there has been a one-pointer in the 2023 World Cup semifinal in Paris.
“England will also be strong. Like us, they have many rugby players. France has the most, then England, and we are third. So, they have strength in numbers, and the Premiership standard is very high.
“Springbok players regard it as an honour to play against England, and we always see it as one of the toughest Test matches we can play.
“Some of the younger guys will be playing against England for the first time.
“Cameron Hanekom, who is on the bench, is super excited to go up against England for the first time.
“If you look back at history, there was a game in 1972 at Ellis Park where the Boks were favoured to win, but England won it.
“And we are not going to forget what happened when Australia came to Ellis Park in 2025.”
Springbok stars Jesse Kriel and Ox Nche are eager to take on an England side who will front up in the physicality stakes.
“All the England centres are quality players,” Kriel said.
“They’ve shown throughout the English Premiership how good they are.
“So I’m looking forward to the challenge and excited about it.”
Nche says England have the players to exploit any weaknesses in the Boks’ armoury.
“I think they’re a pretty exciting bunch of players,” he said.
“We’ve watched Northampton and we’ve watched the Premiership.
“They’ve got a lot of youngsters who have already played plenty of rugby for England. They’ll definitely front up physically.
“They’ve got a lot of energy, exciting wings and plenty of variation in their game. They’re probably not the England team we’re all used to.
“When they see opportunities, they’ve got the talent to take them. So I think they’re a pretty sharp side.”
“We’ve looked at a lot of clips of England’s front row, and I think they’re very consistent.
“They’ve got guys who’ve been working together for a while. They get low, they hit hard. I think it’s going to be a real challenge.
“They’ve also got a lot of younger players who seem very excited about scrummaging.
“So they have a very good scrum, and I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
The Herald
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