South Africa to stick with physical approach in World Cup final
England had the gauntlet laid down on Tuesday before the World Cup final when South Africa made the surprise decision to reveal their tactical intentions and selection plans two days early.
Rassie Erasmus said he plans to pick the same 23-man squad apart from recalling Cheslin Kolbe and strongly hinted the only change to his starting XV would be the return of the fit-again wing. The coach insisted South Africa would be sticking to their guns despite criticism for their ultra-physical, route one approach.
England reiterated they are relishing the physical battle against the Springboks with John Mitchell describing Saturday’s final as a showdown between the two most powerful sides in the world and Billy Vunipola telling South Africa to “bring it on”.
Erasmus is not due to officially name his team until Thursday but while he has sprung a considerable surprise by being so open so soon, he was adamant he was not engaging in mind games with his opposite number, Eddie Jones.
Asked if he was bluffing, he said: “No, I am not. Kolbe will come into the 23 otherwise it will probably be exactly the same. We will only have 160 minutes training this week and we have a six-day turnaround. There is not a lot you can change in that time, just one or two moves maybe.
“I have coached against Eddie’s England four times and we have never had discussions via the media. I am expecting another normal buildup to a Test match, although he might surprise us.
“On the field, I expect a very well coached, fit England team with a great tactical plan. The physicality they brought to New Zealand was the next level and it had been a long time since I had seen an England team turn up with that much physicality. They will be brimming with confidence.”
Jones does not name his team until Thursday and does not have the same luxury as Erasmus with Kyle Sinckler’s fitness being monitored and Jonny May and Owen Farrell recovering from dead legs sustained against the All Blacks. Sinckler was given his own individual training programme and was largely restricted to boxing and handling exercises but Mitchell is optimistic all three will be available for selection. The latest indications were that Jones was leaning towards resisting returning to a midfield of Farrell, Manu Tuilagi and Henry Slade, despite the physical threat posed by South Africa’s Damian de Allende and instead sticking with George Ford at fly-half.
Erasmus accepted the criticism for his side’s attritional approach but insisted the Springboks will not change their ways. After their dogged semifinal win over Wales the second-row Lood de Jager said: “The only way we know is fighting fire with fire.”
On Tuesday Vunipola responded: “They have already come out and said they want to fight fire with fire and I guess we return it by saying: ‘Bring it on’. It is a final and [their power] is one of those things you have to front up to and one of their biggest assets and something we have been working on. Like Eddie has mentioned they have many different threats and one is their forward pack.”
To illustrate the abrasive threat posed by South Africa, Mitchell recalled an encounter with the Springboks from his playing days in 1994. South Africa were touring New Zealand and played a Waikato side featuring Mitchell. The Springboks won 38-17 and Mitchell said: “I got belted and we got belted as well. It was a guy called Adri Geldenhuys. He had octopus arms I think. He got me a beauty. Then the final whistle went and there was [Springbok] Mark Andrews and myself laughing. It was the game in those days.”
Courtney Lawes is similarly expecting an arm-wrestle but believes keeping calm will be key for England. “Are they one of the best in terms of physicality? Yes certainly. It’s a big challenge and it’s something we’re going to have to front up to.
“They are tough guys, they’re brought up tough and they play tough. So do we. So we’re looking forward to it. We don’t need to do anything special to go out there to win a game, if we all do our jobs we’ve got the quality in the team to beat anyone.”