The Springboks are determined to change history as they go in search of their first victory over England at Twickenham in eight years in their final Castle Lager Outgoing Tour match on Saturday, and both captain Siya Kolisi and assistant coach Mzwandile Stick said they are expecting a hard grind of a match.
The Boks last beat England at Twickenham in 2014 and since then they have come marginally close, suffering one-point defeats in their last two matches at the renowned stadium.
With the team having shown that they are on the right track after being narrowly pipped by the two top ranked teams in the world (Ireland and France) before defeating Italy convincingly, the Boks have all the motivation they need to finish their tour on a high note this weekend.
#Springboks captain Siya Kolisi: "We haven’t beaten England here for the past eight years, so it’s going to be a massive game" - more here: https://t.co/mUQFvDPjty#StrongerTogether #StrongerForever #ENGvRSA pic.twitter.com/Hg0QJLx0zq
— Springboks (@Springboks) November 25, 2022
“The rivalry between the teams goes way back,” said Stick.
“It's hard to win here and the stadium has a rich history. A lot of people who have played here haven’t won. It’s going to be another tough game tomorrow and both teams will give everything they have in a in a packed stadium.
“So I'm really I'm really looking forward to it and the boys are ready for it too.”
Kolisi shared Stick’s sentiments and said their comprehensive 32-12 victory against England in the Rugby World Cup final in 2019 was a distant memory.
“2019 was a long time ago,” said Kolisi.
“A lot of the guys that were there then are no longer here, so this match is different. We can't look at that as motivation.
“We lost here last year, so we don't have to look too far. This is a new group of players and we are want to make the country proud.”
Stick said regardless of the result on Saturday, there were a lot of positives the Springboks could take out of the Castle Lager Outgoing Tour.
“It's always our goal is always to win, irrespective of who we play against, so this is an important game for us,” said Stick.
“There are a lot of positives we can take out of the tour irrespective of the results tomorrow. We got a lot of answers from playing against the No 1 and No 2 teams in the world, and we came close in those games. We are also pleased with the way we developed in our game.”
Stick added: “We believe we are in a good space building toward the World Cup, but that said we haven’t beaten England here for the past eight years, so it’s going to be a massive game.”
With England staging a dramatic comeback last week to register a 25-25 draw against New Zealand, Kolisi said the tempo of their game would be vital.
“We all saw how they came back last week, so we know how big this challenge is going to be,” said Kolisi.
“That said, all we can focus on is our intensity and how we start the game. We know it will take a strong 80-minute effort.”
Last #Springboks captain's run for the year done (and the last team photo) ??#StrongerTogether #StrongerForever #ENGvRSA pic.twitter.com/f2Zaar5mAT
— Springboks (@Springboks) November 25, 2022
The match kicks off at 7:30pm (SA time) and will be broadcast live on SuperSport.
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