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Springboks during a training session.
The South African national rugby side is anticipating a reaction from England when the two sides meet at Twickenham in South West London on Saturday.
The English are licking their wounds after two close run losses in succession, and the Boks expect a dangerous home team this time around.
Springbok Captain Siya Kolisi is cautious of coming to Twickenham as the incumbent world champions are aware the match could offer opportunity for English redemption.
“Those things sometimes can pull a team together. So, we are sitting here and we know what England is going to bring. They are at home and playing at Twickenham. It is very special for opposition teams and for them as well it is huge the crowd will get behind them and also our record here is one that we want to rectify. We have got a lot to play for and we have got a lot to fix from last week. We won last week, but you could see that the players weren’t happy with the way we played, because (when) we play, our standard is the most important. Of course, we want to win, but we have so much that we want to rectify. This is a very important game for us as a team,” says Kolisi.
The Springboks come to Twickenham knowing fully well that since 2012 they have only won 3 of 6 matches played at the South West London ground.
They also know that the crowd will be on them the entire match in the cauldron like atmosphere, that typifies the headquarters of English rugby.
Springbok assistant coach Mzwandile Stick is wary of the English support, convinced that they can carry their team over the line.
“That is one thing that was nice last week when we played in Edinburgh; the crowd there, they are very good people. They are not really on top of your head. When you play at Twickenham, you know 85,000 fans are in the stands and they are behind their team, they are also part of the game. So, we cannot afford not to be at our best. So, they are a very quality side. They have just been unlucky in the past two games at the end,” says Stick.
