England Brace for ‘Brutal’ Clash with World Champion Springboks
As England’s rugby union squad prepares to host their historic rivals, the South African Springboks, at Twickenham on Saturday evening, captain Jamie George has warned his players to expect a “brutal” encounter against the reigning world champions.
The Springboks are aiming to inflict a fifth consecutive defeat on Steve Borthwick’s England side, and inspirational Springbok skipper Siya Kolisi admitted that “it’s always personal” when facing their old foes.
“Whenever you step on the field for England in a Test match, you know you are in for a war, you know you are in for a battle, you know it is going to be brutal,” said George. “But the sort of team we want to be, the expectation we have, is that we run and we run hard.”
The England captain is hoping to avenge last year’s World Cup semi-final defeat, which was marred by allegations of racism by Springbok hooker Bongi Mbonambi towards England flanker Tom Curry, who will miss this weekend’s clash due to injury.
“Whenever we play against South Africa, the rivalry is historic,” added George. “There is always going to be an edge whenever you play South Africa, it is a physical game, it is a confrontational game.”
Kolisi acknowledged the target on the Springboks’ back, stating:
“We know we’ve got a target on our back at all times. Every single team that plays against us, we’ve got to make it as personal as possible because we want to stay where we are and we want to grow like New Zealand did for so many years.”
The highly anticipated BBC Rugby Union clash between England and the world champion South Africa Springboks promises to be a fiercely contested affair, with both teams eager to assert their dominance on the pitch.
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