Jake White: What we now know about the Springboks camp

You want to know what I think about that France South Africa game? Three words. Wow. Wow. Wow. It was simply unbelievable.

All along, I have been speaking about the fact that the World Cup has the capacity to surprise us with its twists and turns and that game certainly delivered. It’s a wow to the South African rugby union for giving Rassie what he wanted, with Jacques Nienaber installed as his head coach. The second wow is over selection. It proved you can’t buy experience and they held their nerve. It takes guts to resist the public clamour for Handre Pollard to start and instead select Libbok but they did it.

You also have to say wow that they resisted the opportunity to bring another hooker in after Malcolm Marx’s injury and backed two flankers to play hooker. You look back at the last 18 months. There have been subtle changes to the squad. They’ve bought in new guys like Libbok, Kurt-Lee Arendse and Damien Willemse and changed settled combinations. They didn’t bow to pressure and stuck to what they believed in. That comes with risks because if you err, you go backwards.

An example is the Wallabies. That youthful selection for the World Cup backfired miserably for them. I think Wales lost on the weekend against Argentina because they didn’t have the likes of Alun Wyn Jones or Justin Tipuric on the field. They were comfortably winning that game but didn’t have that experience in the final quarter. I’m not pointing the finger, but nous is key in knockout rugby.

I must stress how important it is having the backing of your bosses. By giving Rassie what he wanted, it imbued a collective belief in what they were trying to achieve. I remember Clive Woodward saying after he’d won the World Cup, that he wasn’t backed by the powers that be at Twickenham. Every time he talked to them about more support, they said, ‘We’re not going to give you what you want’. When the administrators back their coaches it makes a real difference. If the coach didn’t feel supported, there’s no way he would have made those calls – and I speak from experience, I can tell you.

When it comes to the players, I can’t give them enough praise. They put in some heroic performances. Damien de Allende carried hard and true, Cheslin Kolbe played with skill and intelligence and Eben Etzebeth played with his usual physicality and aggression. One of the more unsung heroes is Jesse Kriel. He played one of his best games in what has been a strong World Cup for him. Inexperienced coaches may have said, ‘Let’s pick Lukhanyo (Am)’, but by sticking to their guns, it sent out such a stronger message to the group. ‘We know what we’re doing. You have to trust us’. I’m not surprised they didn’t make changes to their selection for the weekend, those players deserved to start.

All sporting teams try to create a dynasty and prolonged success and this Bok side is no different. When the All Blacks dominated, they had books written about them, lauding their culture and environment. The Boks, hopefully, have two games for a shot at immortality.

What is interesting is how the whole narrative has changed from, ‘Is it possible to beat the home nation’ to, ‘have South Africa already played their final?’

Emotion in sport can’t be underestimated. Four years ago, no one gave England a chance against New Zealand, but they hit the perfect emotional tempo and won the Test match but they couldn’t back it up against the Boks. There are still 14 members of the squad involved in that 2019 World Cup final still in camp. This is not novices against experience; it’s experience against experience. What favours the Boks is they still have the continuity that comes with not changing their entire coaching staff 10 months out from the tournament.

Regarding tactics, South Africa will be hoping England stick to their kick-chase game that was similar to the Boks in 2019. Do that and I don’t see them troubling the Boks. This is where England’s coaching staff come into play. If Steve Borthwick is brave enough to try something different, and it comes off, they have a puncher’s chance. If they don’t bring anything new to the table, their chances of winning lessen.

It’s a shame Marcus Smith has been ruled out with concussion because no one expected him to play at 15 and be used as an attacking weapon against some of the finest athletes in the world game. It was a hell of a brave selection and Borthwick will need more of those. That’s the kind of leftfield thinking England need to beat South Africa.

They’ve picked Joe Marler over Ellis Genge to try and get some stability in the scrum early on and will have more mobile, ball-playing props in the second half with Ellis Genge and Kyle Sinckler. They’ve also got Danny Care and George Ford to come off the bench to match up with Faf (de Klerk) and Handre (Pollard). England were being written off to even exit their pool, and that motivation to prove people wrong is something they’re embracing. It drives them. To go from being beaten by Fiji in front of their home crowd at Twickenham to being the only unbeaten side in the competition is something no one foresaw at this stage of the tournament.

Head-to-Head

Last 5 Meetings

Wins

1

Draws

0

Wins

4

Average Points scored

17

26

First try wins

80%

Home team wins

20%

The fixture has a rich history. If you go all the way back to the start of professionalism and Nick Mallett’s tenure, there’s always been enough needle that they don’t need to press many buttons to fire up the players. England stopped South Africa from breaking the world record of consecutive games won when Gary Teichmann’s side seemed almost invincible. Flip it and you have the five drop-kicks from Jannie de Beer in the 1999 quarter-final. Few Bok fans will forget the 53-3 humbling in 2002, when Jannes Labuschagne got sent off, under Rudolf Straueli.

Since professionalism, England haven beaten the Boks on 13 occasions, going unbeaten between 2000 and 2006 and Rassie knows that. He won’t be underestimating them and nor should the Boks fans. These games have always delivered and thrown up unforgettable moments.

Indeed, when I was in charge, we beat them 58-10 and 55-22 in the summer of 2007, which was a massive boost going into the Rugby World Cup that year, and we beat them 36-0 in the Pool stages, but that final was very tight and we only just came through. There are warning signs if the Boks are complacent. This England side don’t have their L-Plates on. Okay, they don’t have a Martin Johnson, a Lawrence Dallaglio or a Jonny Wilkinson, so they will have to play differently to what we saw in 2003 and 2007, but if they’re bold they could surprise people who have already inked the Boks into the final next weekend.

In that vein, I read what Ian Foster said to the All Blacks just before the Ireland game. The message was, ‘Don’t die wondering. Make sure you give yourselves a chance’. That has to be England’s motto for the weekend. They have to be brave in every aspect; brave in physicality, brave in style, brave in the decisions they make. In essence, they have to play the perfect game.

This is an England side who will want to succeed for English rugby, which has had a tough time of late. Three of their storied clubs disappeared last season, some are fighting for survival and players have been forced to find clubs outside England. A win would serve as a massive fillip after a troubling period.

What will be interesting is who the French fans will back. They don’t usually support England, but they’re still smarting with the Boks for beating them, and depending on who they back, it could lift either side.

I’m coaching the Bulls and we’re facing Saracens in the Investec Cup. If you look at the spine of that side, it’s tasted continued success. Jamie George, Owen Farrell, Maro Itoje, Billy Vunipola and Elliot Daly all know how to win. Many sports teams never win a thing, but you can’t say that about this English team. Of course, I expect the Boks to win, but it might be closer than many people think.