Boks’ match against England the make or break of November tour

The Boks have reached the pinnacle of their November tour of Europe: Ireland, France and Italy mattered, but taking on England at Twickenham on Saturday is what will make the tour a success or not.

With two losses, against Ireland and France, and a win against Italy behind them, the Boks face a known foe in England, the team they beat in the 2019 World Cup final … and a team not too many South Africans are particularly fond of.

Make or break

If the Boks win on Saturday and play some high quality rugby to go with it, the tour will be considered a success and the coaching staff and players will go into 2023, a World Cup year, with plenty of confidence and belief.

But, should the Boks come unstuck, should they be bullied and be out-muscled and found wanting, then the squad will go into the festive season break with all sorts of questions needing answering.

Jacques Nienaber and Co will thus be desperate to tick several boxes at Twickenham, among them getting a win which would ensure a successful tour and at thee same time take plenty of stress off the shoulders of Nienaber and director of rugby Rassie Erasmus.

For me it is a Bok team that should be able to do the business, even if some key players are missing because the Test falls outside the international window.

Four players to watch

There are four players who’ll probably be under the microscope a bit more than their team-mates on Saturday … and they are Evan Roos, Damian Willemse, Manie Libbok and Makazole Mapimpi.

For months now the public have been screaming for the Stormers No 8 to get a go and now it’s Roos’ big opportunity to show what he can do.

It’s up to him now to make the most of this chance, against one of the best and toughest sides in the game. England are the real deal and their loose-forwards are quality players so it won’t get bigger and better than this Test for Roos to deliver.

He’ll be pumped up. One good showing at Twickenham could be enough to get him into a World Cup squad.

Regarding Willemse, I’m pleased Nienaber has backed him again at 10, even though Libbok did well against Italy. The more Willemse plays at 10 at Test level the better for him and the team and he, too, faces a huge examination in what will be a pressure-filled match.

But, I really hope Libbok gets a decent amount of time from the bench because it’s one thing doing well against Italy and quite another taking on England, and everyone needs to see the flyhalf have a run in tough conditions against strong opposition.

Finally, World Cup hero Mapimpi is back in the starting team and somewhat bizarrely in a battle to show that he still belongs in the first-choice side. The weird thing is Mapimpi has done nothing wrong, but due to the emergence of some young guns who’ve taken to Test rugby without a hiccup, the regular No 11 needs a big performance to remind everyone of his qualities.

It’s all set up to be a cracker in London. If England don’t make a fast start I think the Boks will take it.