Reigning Rugby World Cup Champions, South Africa will look to end the 2022 season with some momentum when they take on England at Twickenham in their Autumn International Series finale on Saturday evening. The Springboks haven’t beaten the English at Twickenham since 2014 and Captain Siya Kolisi is eager to resume the old rivalry and break their three-match losing streak.
After two straight losses to Ireland and France on their end-of-year tour, the three-time world champions, ran rampant against Italy last week, thumping them by 42 points. And the Boks will need all of that confidence and drive when they take on the English, at the spiritual home of rugby, Twickenham.
South Africa has lost their last three outings there, in 2016, 2018 and that infamous 27-26 loss last year after defeating them in the final of the World Cup in Japan.
“The rivalry goes way back and when you see the game on the calendar it’s exciting because it is hard to win here. The stadium has a rich history and a lot of people never get the opportunity to play or win I have never won at Twickenham before. I don’t think it will be any different, both teams are going to give it everything in a packed stadium and they are both ready for it too. There might be some heat in the begining or the middle and the end, there is never a dull moment in one of these games,” says Kolisi.
The Springboks have enjoyed varied results this season, but coach Jaques Nienaber is relatively satisfied with where the squad is right now, saying that they are not far off from being World Cup contenders in next year’s tournament in France.
“We did a lot of the answers that the coaches were looking for yeah. We obviously wanted to get them while we were winning, we lost two games now at the end of the year tour, but I think tomorrow’s game is important to our result and the series as well. Important for momentum going forward, we haven’t thought too much about what’s happening, everything has just been this game and that’s what we have been focusing on this week. We want to make sure we finish the year off well,” Kolisi added.
South Africa will also have an opportunity to gain a spot on the world rankings if they beat England by more than 15 points.
They can jump to third place behind the All Blacks but Saturday evening’s clash is expected to be a closely fought affair.
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