Springbok captain Siya Kolisi says his charges are ready to give everything against England at Twickenham on Saturday as South Africa their first full house of wins on the Castle Lager Outgoing Tour since 2013.
The two teams last met in the Rugby World Cup final in Japan in 2019, a game the Boks won 32-12, but the Springboks last won a match at Twickenham in 2014.
In 2018, the Boks were edged 12-11 and in 2016 England registered a 37-21 victory – a record the Springboks would like to change when they cross paths on Saturday at 15h15 (17h15 SA time) in their final Test of the year, that will be broadcast live on SuperSport.
“We’ll take the field with everything we have,” said Kolisi.
“It’s our last game of the season and not many of our players have played at Twickenham. In fact I’ve only played there twice. So it’s going to be a big game. One can sense the excitement for the match.
“A lot of South Africans have come to London for the game, which is fantastic, and as a team we have prepared as well as we can, and we need to ensure that are ready for anything they throw at us.”
Kolisi expected a tough grind against the hosts and said: “England are a good team. They have a good kicking game, and they can attack from all around.
“They also have a good spine and several mature players with over 50 Test caps. Over and above this, playing at Twickenham is special.”
Springbok assistant coach Mzwandile Stick echoed these sentiments.
“These are the games we live for," said Stick.
"It’s been a tough year and to go into a game like this to close off the season is great. It’s our last game and the growth we’ve had this year as a team has been good, so we are certainly up for this game.”
Stick added: “England are a strong side with brilliant players and we have a lot of respect for them. It will be tough to face them at Twickenham as they are a very passionate nation, but the key for us will be to make sure we do what we would like to do to the best of our ability.”
Kolisi expected a tough breakdown battle against the England loose trio of Courtney Lawes, Sam Underhill and Tom Curry, and said: “They have amazing fetchers that have been performing well, but we have great fetchers too.
“For us it will take a team effort and it will come down the team whose plan works the best on the day.”
Commenting on the absence of England captain and centre Owen Farrell, who was ruled out of the clash due to an ankle injury, Kolisi said: “He’s a great player and amazing leader, but I’m sure the players around him will step up, and over and above this, they have enough leaders in their group with players like Courtney Lawes and Maro Itoje.
“It would have been tough for him to suffer this injury, but it presents an opportunity for someone else, and they will have Manu Tuilagi replacing him at centre, which is a pretty good swap.”
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