Written by @QuintenLetcher for @Hollywoodbets. Follow them both on Twitter and Facebook now!
England vs South Africa | Saturday 15 November | Twickenham Stadium | 16:30
Any delusions of grandeur harboured by the Springboks following their fervent Rugby Championship victory over the All Blacks last month were short lived, as a substantially depleted Ireland powered past their overconfident opponents to a 29-15 victory in front of a boisterous Dublin crowd. The tourists will be ruing the bullish decision making that saw them refusing easy penalty points on several occasions, as well as the poor discipline that had them a man down when they could least afford it. Expect a more prudent, humble and composed Springbok side for the remainder of their tour of the north.
The Springboks now nip across the Irish Sea as they make their way to iconic Twickenham, where an eager English side awaits the opportunity to end their eleven match drought against the South Africans. Stuart Lancaster’s side certainly proved that they have what it takes to beat the best last week, but they will need to work at keeping the intensity turned all the way up for the full eighty minutes if they want to stop the Boks picking up their first win of the tour. England got off to a blistering start against New Zealand, but failed to fully capitalise on their first half dominance, managing only a narrow three point lead at the interval despite the overwhelming number of opportunities presented to them. Predictably, England was unable to match the All Blacks in endurance and the visitors emerged from the break, as they inevitably do, with a newfound urgency that secured them a fifth consecutive victory over the Red Roses.
To Win (80mins)
England 8/10
South Africa 11/10
Draw 20/1
England
Stuart Lancaster will announce his run on side a bit closer to the game, but he has made two changes to his squad following last week’s narrow defeat to the All Blacks. Harlequins dynamo Marland Yarde has been recalled to the national setup and is expected to start on the right wing following an injury to last week’s debutant Semesa Rokoduguni. The only other change to the squad sees the addition of Wasps skipper James Haskell, who has been called up as a precautionary measure after Tom Wood was forced to sit out most of Tuesday’s training session, having failed to fully recover from last’s weeks bruising encounter.
South Africa
Heyneke Meyer has made five changes to the side that suffered a shock defeat against an injury-plagued Ireland last weekend. World Cup winners JP Pietersen and Schalk Burger come into the starting XV, replacing the less experienced Cornal Hendricks and Teboho Mohoje, who both drop to the bench. Stoical super-sub Pat Lambie finally cracks the nod to start at flyhalf and will team up with scrumhalf Cobus Reinach in the half back pairing. In the front row, Adriaan Strauss takes over from the volatile Bismarck du Plessis.
VERDICT: South Africa 9/10
The Springboks underestimated the abilities of an under strength Ireland last week. Things could have turned out differently had they played a more cautious game and opted to take the kickable penalties instead of going for glory and coming up short. England has an exciting young side that showed the extent of their attacking prowess against one of the world’s toughest defences last weekend, but they are without several first choice players at the moment and their bench holds nowhere near as much sting as the Springbok one. I expect they’ll prove a handful for the South Africans, right up until the gas runs out. Back the Boks.
Think we’ve got it wrong? Well leave your comments below and tell us how you think this is going to play out.
