Springboks must keep Twickenham ghosts of 1998 at bay

In November 1998, Rassie Erasmus was one of the shattered Springboks who shuffled off the Twickenham turf to the tune of 80 000 delirious fans singing, “Where’s your record gone? Where’s your record gone? Far, far away,” to the tune of the ’60s hit Chirpy, Chirpy, Cheep.

“I will never forget that humiliation,” Erasmus said of the shock 13-7 defeat of Gary Teichmann’s previously “unbeatable” team by England.

“We had won 17 matches in a row to equal the world record (set by the All Blacks in the 1960s) and nobody expected us to fail, but England were waiting for us…” Erasmus told the media in London yesterday.

“England were hungry, they were determined and they hadn’t been playing well, so they saw beating a champion Springbok side as the perfect way to make a statement and end their year on a high.”

The wily Erasmus has been telling his players this story because the situation for tomorrow’s Test at Twickenham (7.40pm kick-off) is remarkably similar to that of the 1998 game.

This time the Boks are double world champions, while under-threat Steve Borthwick knows that a statement win over the South Africans will save his job.

A fifth consecutive defeat will also certainly mean the sack.

“England at Twickenham will always be one of the hardest games you can play, and our record here in recent years is poor,” Erasmus said.

“Our reality is we don’t play well here too often, and have lost three of our last four games here.

“We are playing a desperate, hungry team that will be playing for their (embattled) coaching staff.

“This makes them extremely dangerous.”

Just over 48 hours to go until kick-off in London, and the boys have been hard at work ✅#Springboks#ForeverGreenForeverGold pic.twitter.com/kzMatDOcLy

— Springboks (@Springboks) November 14, 2024

Erasmus said that the Boks know exactly how England will tackle the game.

“We have been on that side of the fence before, and we tend to go into a laager mentally. We think they will have something similar going on in their camp,” Erasmus observed.

“They will be very tight as a team, and some senior players will be convincing the rest that they can beat us because they have done it before.

“They are under pressure, but that will galvanise them as a team, and their fans will get behind them.”

Erasmus added that the Boks are expecting no-frills rugby from an England side that will base their game on a kicking strategy.

“I don’t think England will change their game-plan because of what I say at this press conference, but this is going to be like the (World Cup) semi-final.

“They tend to go back to one hell of a kicking game,” the coach said. “It is well known in rugby circles that the England players run at 80 percent of their maximum when they chase those kicks to put pressure on you.

“That takes a lot out of the opposition, but also a lot out of them. Sometimes that strategy can tire your legs when you want to attack.”

It is not impossible that Erasmus was playing some mental chess in the press conference, but he did back up his theory by saying that his return to a conventional five-three split on the bench was to combat the expected kicking game.

“Their rush defence will take a toll on our backs, so that is why we need more backs on the bench,” he said.

“And because of split we used against Scotland, our forwards are fresh, with only Eben (Etzebeth) playing the full 80.

“If your backline begins to struggle with dealing with the kicking and the rush defence, and the forwards can’t always get back to help, then you need cover – and that is why we will have Handré Pollard, Cobus Reinach and Lukhanyo Am on the bench.”

The major changes to the starting XV saw Manie Libbok and Grant Williams reinstated at flyhalf and scrumhalf respectively, while RG Snyman will don the No 5 jersey and Wilco Louw gets a deserved opportunity at tighthead prop after excelling for the Bulls.

Springbok Team

15 Aphelele Fassi 14 Cheslin Kolbe 13 Jesse Kriel 12 Damian de Allende 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse 10 Manie Libbok 9 Grant Williams 8 Jasper Wiese 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit 6 Siya Kolisi (captain) 5 RG Snyman 4 Eben Etzebeth 3 Wilco Louw 2 Bongi Mbonambi 1 Ox Nche.

Bench: 16 Malcolm Marx 17 Gerhard Steenekamp 18 Vincent Koch 19 Elrigh Louw 20 Kwagga Smith 21 Cobus Reinach 22 Handré Pollard 23 Lukhanyo Am.