Springboks more than hulking green machine

SOUTH AFRICA pitch up at Twickenham aiming to show they are not merely a giant green steamroller.

The Springboks carry with them a tradition of powerful forward play and, outweighing England up front, are expected to play to their strengths.

But after scoring 21 tries in their six Rugby Championship games, there is another side to their game.

“People always say the South Africans are so big, but then you get onto the pitch and Maro Itoje is a massive man, George Kruis is a massive man, Kyle Sinckler is a big guy compared to our props,” said the Boks coach Rassie Erasmus, right.

“So it’s a bit of a myth, because all rugby players are big nowadays. We’re trying to be more than just a one-dimensional team. I guess there’s games where we really looked one-dimensional. But then there were games where we really got stuck in there and all the attacking things seemed to work.

“So we’re evolving from more than just a grunting, hulking, running-overyou team.”

Erasmus, who led the Boks to a 2-1 series victory over England in June, will be facing opposition boasting eight changes from Cape Town.

“They are a quality team but there’s a lot of unknowns for us there. I really don’t know all of those guys so well,” Erasmus said. “It might look vulnerable from the outside, but then you get surprises.” Springboks hooker Malcolm Marx was yesterday shortlisted for World Rugby player of the year along with team-mate Faf De Klerk, a notable absentee today. New Zealand duo Beauden Barrett and Rieko Ioane plus Ireland’s Johnny Sexton complete the list. The winner will be named this month in Monte Carlo at a World Rugby awards ceremony.