The Springboks are planning to renew their rivalry with England this Saturday at Twickenham in South West London. It is the second stop and by far the biggest on their end-of-year tour.
South Africa has the upper hand over England in World Cup matches, however at Twickenham, the English would like to hold more of their own over the Green and Gold.
The Springboks will face their biggest test on their end-of-year tour, this weekend when they front up to England at Twickenham.
England and the Boks have a history – having played in a World Cup final in 2019 and a World Cup semi-final in 2023, with the Springboks winning both times.
Bok scrumhalf Cobus Reinach stresses that his side has to be meticulous in their preparations if they want to continue to dominate the rivalry.
Reinach says “I think rugby is a strange game and sometimes you are on the good side of a match. A close match for me is how you put your week together; how you prepare. Do you prepare for circumstances you’ll face in a game and situations that may come your way? And I think we are with our coaching staff. We are really trying to prepare for anything that can happen and the players feel confident and know what to do in certain situations.”
A close working relationship between the players and coaching staff becomes paramount, and with the likes of New Zealand guru, Tony Brown plotting a new offensive course, trust is key.
Springbok Assistant Coach, Tony Brown says, “For me as an attack coach to be able to get ahold of that talent and not so much free licence but be encouraged to try and change the way they look at the game and play the game and try and use the natural ability of some of the players around their x factor and their physicality and their size to create an attacking game that can hopefully be the best in the world.”
Brown is devising a game plan that plays to the strengths of the Green and Gold, while also giving a player like Reinach freedom to operate.
Reinach says, “Tony came in and changed the way we see the attack and taught us how to be brave on attack and how we as nines can now scoot a little bit and take the ball one two three steps before we make a decision about who to hit.”
Much like Rassie Erasmus, who sought to unlock a style of play that remains true to the Springbok DNA. So, Brown wants the Boks to play like themselves and not like the All Blacks.
Brown says, “I am never ever going to come in and teach the springboks how to play like the all blacks for instance I am going to teach the springboks to attack like springboks and I think we are slowly understanding what that looks like.”
It’s a short turnaround this week after the Springboks beat Scotland on Sunday, they now have to get ready for England this coming Saturday.
Being able to pull that off is a testament to the hard work put in by all associated with the Springboks.
