South Africa v England Third Test Preview
Newlands plays host to what could very well be the final Test match played at the iconic ground, when the Springboks and England face-off in the final clash of their June series. The build up to the final Test has been overshadowed by the financial issues facing Western Province rugby and their potential shift over the Cape Town Stadium that was built for the 2010 football World Cup.
Adding to this, the Boks 23-12 win over England in the second Test last week gave the hosts an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series, removing some intensity during the build up to the Newlands clash. That said this is a Test match and Eddie Jones’ England are looking to end a miserable 6-match losing run and relieve the pressure on his position with the World Cup just over a year out.
Second Test Highlights
For the Springboks, coach Rassie Erasmus has made five changes from the team that ran out in Bloemfontein. Warrick Gelant comes in at full-back, Jesse Kriel and Andre Esterhuizen in midfield, Elton Jantjies at fly-half and Chiliboy Ralepelle at hooker.
Schalk Brits also comes into the squad and will start from the bench alongside talented young scrumhalf Embrose Papier. These changes by Erasmus are more about rotation of the squad than anything else, as with the Rugby Championship not far off, some sort of continuity is crucial to their hopes against the All Blacks, Wallabies and Argentina.
England Ring the Changes
For England, the big news is the first England start in 10-years for Danny Cipriani. Cipriani has been in superb form all season and fully justifies his selection ahead of George Ford. The reality is that Jones should have gone with the talented fly-half from the start of the series.
His decision making in open play is as good as any that Jones has at his disposal, while his attacking game is far superior to that of Ford’s. With the two previous Tests played in conditions that suited the attacking style of play, Cipriani could have made a difference. England’s back three of Daly, May and Brown will get better quality ball going forward with Cipriani pulling the strings.
The conditions are expected to be wet and windy come kick-off, giving England the left foot kicking option in Cipriani and the right boot of Farrell outside him.
Other changes for England sees Chris Robshaw return in the place of Brad Shields who is suffering from illness, while Joe Marler packs down in place of the injured Mako Vunipola. Nathan Hughes gets the nod at the back of the scrum after Billy Vunipola re-fractured his arm and was forced to return home.
Discipline Paramount
England will be quietly confident of salvaging something on this tour with the conditions expected, however in order for this to be achieved, their lack of discipline needs to be addressed and they need to front up to the physicality of Vermeulen and Snyman going forward, not to mention the set piece which saw the Boks dominate last week.
Wet conditions in rugby is a great leveler and will play into the hands of the visitors, however looking at the experience of Le Roux, Pollard and Brits on the bench, the impact Kitshoff makes at the front of the scrum and the form of Vermeulen, I expect the Boks to deliver a series whitewash on a wounded England.
Teams
South Africa: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 S’busiso Nkosi, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Aphiwe Dyantyi, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 RG Snyman, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 1 Tendai Mtawarira
Replacements: 16 Schalk Brits, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Thomas du Toit, 19 Jean-Luc du Preez, 20 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 21 Embrose Papier, 22 Handré Pollard, 23 Willie le Roux
England: 15 Elliot Daly, 14 Jonny May, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Owen Farrell (c), 11 Mike Brown, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Nathan Hughes, 7 Tom Curry, 6 Chris Robshaw, 5 Maro Itoje, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Jamie George, 1 Joe Marler
Replacements: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Alec Hepburn, 18 Harry Williams, 19 Jonny Hill, 20 Mark Wilson, 21 Sam Simmonds, 22 Ben Spencer, 23 Denny Solomona
