Pollard says consistency is the goal as Boks target England

Springbok flyhalf Handre Pollard says a big goal for the team this season has been picking up consistent positive results, as they turn their attention to their second end-of-year tour game against England at Twickenham on Saturday.

The Boks picked up their ninth win in 11 matches this past Sunday, a 32-15 win over Scotland, with Pollard playing his part in contributing 12 points through three conversions and two penalties.

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They now head into arguably their toughest game of their three-match UK tour, against the team they edged by just a single point in last year’s World Cup semifinal, before closing out their year against Wales in Cardiff the following weekend.

The one thing the Boks will also have to contend with is a shorter preparation week, with a six-day turnaround between the matches.

“Consistency is the goal, but we aren’t looking too far forward. We have a massive Test against England at Twickenham, so we must prepare well for that,” Pollard said after the win against Scotland.

“It’s a six-day turnaround. They are tough, but we have done a few of them and we know how to handle them, so we will be ready at Twickenham on Saturday.”

Canan Moodie

Bok utility back Canan Moodie, who started on the wing against the Scots, said the team were happy to get off to a good start on their tour, and that they could take a lot of confidence into the England game, especially after they managed to score four tries while keeping Scotland try-less.

However, it is unlikely that Moodie will make the match 23, with the Boks expected to revert back to their full strength starting XV for the game.

They are likely to go with a 6-2 bench split, or maybe even the 7-1 they used against Scotland, and there won’t be space for him on the bench.

“It was a good win for us, being first game on tour. We haven’t played (together) for five weeks now, so it was good to get a win,” said Moodie.

“It was my first game here, so it was very exciting to play at Murrayfield. It was another bucket list venue ticked off for me with a very special atmosphere and a lot of South Africans coming out to support.

“So it was a very special night and we got the win so I am very happy. We are also happy about scoring four tries while we didn’t leak one.

“It is now a short turnaround of six days, but we will take a lot of confidence out of it (Scotland result). It was a tough first half but we managed to get a good result.”