Springbok captain Siya Kolisi during his cameo off the bench against Scotland, will likely be elevated back to the starting lineup against England on Saturday. Picture: Steve Haag Sports/Gallo Images
The Springboks will need to put in an improved performance when they take on a wounded England at Twickenham on Saturday, after their imperfect 32-15 win over Scotland at Murrayfield over the past weekend.
The Boks were given a scare by the Scots, who shaded play in a number of departments, while it was also an error strewn game from both teams.
The lineouts, breakdown and handling errors should be key focus points for the Boks, after they lost possession three times on their own throw, were dominated at the rucks when Scotland piled in, and knocked on 14 times over the 80 minutes.
England will also be massively fired up for the game as they will be desperate to break a four game losing streak, stretching back to July.
It has been a tough year for England, losing six of their 10 games this season, and their last four defeats have all been by seven points or less.
Three of those losses came against the All Blacks, two in New Zealand, 15-16 and 17-24, and one at Twickenham, 22-24, while they were stunned by a late try to the Wallabies to go down 37-42 over the past weekend.
They will thus be gunning for the Boks, especially after they lost to them 15-16 in the semifinals of last year’s World Cup, and the South Africans will need to be better than they were against Scotland if they want to make sure of the win.
Bok captain Siya Kolisi, who played off the bench against the Scots but is likely to be elevated back to the starting lineup against England, admitted that the team was happy with the win, but still had room for growth
“We got the win. That’s the most important thing and we will build from this. But this is what I enjoy about this team, there is always space for growth,” said Kolisi.
“The coaching staff have a plan. They want us to get opportunities to build squad depth and squad growth while winning, which is important.
“This weekend I am playing, next weekend I might not be playing. But I make sure that the guys that are playing have the best preparation. That is the secret to our success as a group. The team is more important than the individual.”
The Boks will also likely revert to their strongest possible XV for the game against England, with a number of first choice backline players missing out on the game against the Scots, while their main loose trio should be elevated back to the starting lineup.
Aphelele Fassi, Cheslin Kolbe, Jesse Kriel, Damian de Allende, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Handre Pollard, Grant Williams, Jasper Wiese, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Siya Kolisi, Franco Mostert, Eben Etzebeth, Vincent Koch, Malcolm Marx, Ox Nche
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