England vs. South Africa - A Colossal Test of Strength

Physicality will be the word of the day on Saturday 15th November as the Springboks arrive at Twickenham Stadium. The South Africans will be hurting and on the bounce back from their defeat at the hands of Joe Schmidt's men... what a prospect that is for the 23 English men in crisp white shirts with red roses on them.

Focusing on the visitors first of all Heyneke Meyer, has spent the week insisting that the 5 changes that he has made to his squad are ‘pre-planned’ and not a result of last weekend’s 14 point loss to Ireland and in my eyes whether that rings true or not is immaterial. South Africa were squeezed out in Dublin however they remain one of the most deadly sides in the world. They house two of best set pieces out there with their scrum and line out and although they were a little over eager to play expansive rugby in Dublin. They will have worked during the week at finding that balance and when they do with Willie LeRoux and Brian Habana just two of their weapons read ready to pounce you have to pronounce them to be extremely dangerous. 

Robshaw and his men are under no illusions about the task ahead, they haven’t beaten the South Africans in a long, long time, and indeed no member of the current squad has ever experienced victory over this giant side. England do have a lot more experience in the bank than the last time that they met the Boks at Twickenham in 2002 which is certainly a bonus. However today, in November 2014, frustration is the over arching feeling for England are still struggling to truly those lessons into practice when it matters. If England are to record the result that they are desperate for they must find their zone and stay in it for 80 minutes, not 30 or 40 minutes, 80. 'Skill execution under pressure' that is the technical term for it and it is something we have failed to see against a Southern Hemisphere side this year. 

Naturally there are areas we will all be hyper critical about this weekend, game management and the kicking of our half backs for without either of these against a scorned Springboks England will lose the game and we will end game repeating exactly the same words that we did a little under seven days ago. 

This Saturday Twickenham will be a cauldron of pressure however the only option for Lancaster's side is to shoulder that and play with confidence, executing their game plan without a moment of hesitation. A test of character, a test of physical strength and a test of wills lies ahead for Stuart Lancaster’s England, just what can they deliver when it matters most? 

England: 15 Mike Brown 14 Anthony Watson 13 Brad Barritt 12 Kyle Eastmond 11 Jonny May 10 Owen Farrell 9 Danny Care 1 Joe Marler 2 Dylan Hartley 3 David Wilson 4 Dave Attwood 5 Courtney Lawes 6 Tom Wood 7 Chris Robshaw (C) 8 Billy Vunipola Replacements: 16 Rob Webber 17 Matt Mullan 18 Kieran Brookes 19 George Kruis 20 Ben Morgan 21 Ben Youngs 22 George Ford 23 Marland Yarde

South Africa: 15 Willie le Roux 14 JP Pietersen 13 Jan Serfontein 12 Jean de Villiers (C) 11 Bryan Habana 10 Pat Lambie 9 Cobus Reinach 1 Tendai Mtawarira  2 Adriaan Strauss 3 Jannie du Plessis 4 Eben Etzebeth 5 Victor Matfield 6 Marcell Coetzee 7 Schalk Burger 8 Duane Vermeulen Replacements: 16 Bismarck du Plessis 17 Trevor Nyakane 18 Coenie Oosthuizen 19 Bakkies Botha 20 Teboho Mohoje 21 Francois Hougaard 22 Handré Pollard 23 Cornal Hendricks