In this week’s O2 Inside Line we get a look within the confines of the England camp as they build towards their big game against South Africa on Saturday. We also find out some interesting stats about Twickenham and how the field is maintained.
Rain is expected for this weekend’s game so it may not be pretty, but we can expect a typically fierce battle up front as England aim to beat South Africa for the first time in ten attempts. The last time England beat them was in November 2006.
Things didn’t go to plan for the home side last weekend as the Wallabies lifted their game, so a win would be crucial for confidence and team morale ahead of their meeting with the All Blacks a week later, and then with preparations for the Six Nations.
In this episode of O2 Inside Line there’s the usual banter between the players, some analysis of the key breakdown area, and a look at how the 10 000 sq ft Twickenham is maintained.
Saturday, 24 November, Twickenham, Kick off 14:30 GMT
England team:
15 Alex Goode, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 Mike Brown, 10 Toby Flood, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Ben Morgan, 7 Chris Robshaw (c), 6 Tom Wood, 5 Geoff Parling, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Tom Youngs, 1 Alex Corbisiero.
Replacements: 16 David Paice, 17 David Wilson, 18 Mako Vunipola, 19 Mouritz Botha, 20 James Haskell, 21 Danny Care, 22 Owen Farrell, 23 Jonathan Joseph.
Springboks:
15 Zane Kirchner, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Jean de Villiers (c), 11 Francois Hougaard, 10 Pat Lambie, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Juandre Kruger, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Gurthro Steenkamp.
Replacements: 16 Schalk Brits, 17 Heinke van der Merwe, 18 Pat Cilliers, 19 Flip van der Merwe, 20 Marcell Coetzee, 21 Elton Jantjies, 22 Jaco Taute, 23 Lwazi Mvovo.
To get the inside scoop on the England squad every week of the QBE Internationals, as well as fun features and team chat, sign up for alerts and watch O2 Inside Line on RFU TV at O2InsideLine.com
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