England need vast improvement if they are to challenge Habana and the Boks

The clash of these two rugby powerhouses will not only determine the winner of Pool A, but with the prospect of facing either Scotland or Italy it also provides the winner with an easier road to the semi final. The loser of this game will find their road to the semi final goes through the Wallabies.

England had enjoyed a period of dominance over the Springboks for a number of years until the end of 2006 when South Africa beat them at Twickenham. This season saw the Springboks thrash a second string England side in a two game home test series, racking up more than 50 points in both games.

Both teams go into this game affected by both injuries and suspensions. Springbok flanker Schalk Burger is out after copping a two-match suspension for an awful tackle on Samoan half back Junior Polu, while England captain Phil Vickery is serving a two game suspension for his foot trip on USA’s Paul Emmerick. England’s 2003 World Cup hero Jonny Wilkinson was not considered for this game as his hamstring injury is still healing, his replacement Olly Barclay, who performed so well against the USA, is out with a hip injury and South African centre Jean de Villiers has gone home after tearing his bicep against Samoa.

In his first outing of the World Cup Springbok winger Brian Habana was unstoppable, running in four tries against Samoa and sounding a warning to his opposite that he will have his hands full trying to contain the South African flyer. After losing his top two fly halves to injury, England coach Brian Ashton has turned to 71 test veteran Mike Catt to play the pivotal role with Andy Farrell slotting into inside centre. While the two have already stated that they will switch roles throughout the match, the pressure will be on Catt to direct the English back line against the fierce rushing defence of the Springboks.

The England forward pack did not cover themselves in glory against a much weaker USA pack, committing too few players to the breakdown and trying to run like backs, which they did poorly. Up against a South African pack known for their ferocity and confrontational style the English forwards will need to roll up their sleeves and do a lot of hard work. Gaining parity will not be enough against the Springboks, the English pack will need to dominate up front and impose their will on their opponents if they are to win this game.

Both on paper and on recent performances, this game would appear to be a slam dunk for the Springboks, but this World Cup has already produced one major upset and a number of other slam dunk games turned out to be anything but. However England will require a form turn around of monumental proportions if they are to go from the disjointed and rusty team that played against the USA to a team capable of beating South Africa. Expect the Springboks to win this one at a canter and signal the beginning of the end for the defending champions.

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The England need vast improvement if they are to challenge Habana and the Boks by Hamish McBrearty, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.