The Springboks are expecting an expansive approach from England when the two sides meet in their first Nations Championship match at Ellis Park on Saturday, with the Premiership winning Northampton Saints stars giving Steve Borthwick the bulk of his squad.
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus confirmed he believed that England would take an expansive approach, one of the reasons he made a few selection calls for the match to bring in a few more mobile players on the bench.
And with Northampton giving six players - one of them being the fans’ villain Henry Pollock - as well as the halfbacks Alex Mitchell and Finn Smith, the free-scoring winger Tommy Freeman as well as Alex Coles and Geroge Furbank, there is a real expectation that the team will play a lot more like Northampton’s free-scoring attacking approach.
Tournament ready 👊
— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) June 22, 2026
Head coach Steve Borthwick has named his England Senior Men's squad for the Nations Championship.@O2 | #WearTheRose
Erasmus had hinted as such last week when he said that Borthwick “chased trends” and this was probably what he was alluding to.
When asked about it at Monday’s press conference, Erasmus said he did believe that would set the tone for England’s attack.
“Yeah there is a lot (of Saints’ players) and they also played still last weekend.So they would have celebrated probably Saturday night and I think they arrived here Wednesday.
“That's why we say it's tough to quickly align people but if they have a lot of Northampton players in - the 9 and 10 will be the same, there might be a wing that's the same and we think there's a few of their guys going to be in.
“I guess it's probably how quickly a team syncs and gets on the same page. It is the same with us, But to answer you, yes, they have got that winning feeling and they're on a high and that sometimes that helps.
“It would have been great if the Bulls won and you get that confidence in but then, on the other side, if you lose like the Bulls there's a hunger to rectify it and that's also a bit of a positive.
“I think their positive is Northampton’s success and they have some very good players.”
DIFFICULT TO COMMENT ON ENGLAND GAME PLAN
While England have been the one team that could suffocate the Boks and bring them down to the gutter, Erasmus is not expecting that.
Asked why he didn’t think that was the case, he said Borthwick’s side was adapting well to a more expansive game of late.
“You know for me to predict what they're going to do - we guess and we look at how they played in their last game against France - which they only just lost. They would have believed they could have won.
“It's difficult to judge - they flew over on Wednesday, so the question is - are they over the altitude? Probably.
“Are they adapting to this altitude? Probably. Are they good players who are young and energetic? Yes they are. Will that fit a nice open running game which they did in that game against France? I think so but they didn't win.
“Would they buy into that? That's why it's so difficult to comment on what another coach would do - I don't think it's even the place to try and comment on how they prepare. it's more analysing them in facets of the game and seeing how you can maybe win facet by facet - defence, scrums, lineouts.
“You put it in departments and try and win those departments and then hopefully win the game.”
Either way the Boks are also likely to try some innovation themselves, and how they react to England’s game plan will be key to their hopes of victory on Saturday.