Simon Middleton hits back at 'hilarious' England criticism

England traditionally are competitive in almost every game, and we should expect that this time around.

It will be interesting to see whether England is able to score tries. They scored 5 against Australia, but only 1 against NZ. My guess is that SA will hold them to 1 or 2 tries, score three or four themselves, and be much better on penalty discipline than the Scotland game (because conceding fewer penalties would have been an area of focus this week).

I am expecting SA to win by about 23-15. But cards, weather, injuries and the bounce of the ref can always intervene.

I respect the Boks and I rate their players, but England's players aren't mugs. They beat a very good Ireland team during the 6 Nations when they were 'backs to the wall' and I feel like they will put out their best performance of November after two starts under their belts.

I foresee a close game that could go either way. We'll see how it unfolds.

The Boks is a whole other level. You overestimate England and underestimate the Boks. Clearly you haven't really looked at the teams. Besides the Irish games earlier this year, the Boks have mainly used experimental sides, even against the AB's.

Now they have chosen their best team available. They have targeted this game. The Boks mean business. Man for man, this Bok team is better. In strategy and player abilities there is no comparison and they are outmatched.

There isn't just monster strength, but unreal speed. In broken play there is currently no better team as well as defensively, not to even talk about the attacking threat, both from front and the back.

I'd say read between the lines, see what everyone is seeing, but clearly you are wearing blinders and is also putting too much emphasis on an AB's team the Boks beat twice this year, the same AB's that beaten England 3 times this year.

When Rassie gets serious, the players become machines. There is no stopping them. That bench is loaded with players that is fast, strong and have exceptional skills. This is a team not many teams will face before the 2027 WC, because the Boks doesn't use their best between WC's in one game. All experimental.

You will be proven wrong on Saturday and then you will wonder how you could have been so wrong. This Bok team means serious business. They came to conquer and not just by a close score. They want to demolish and they will. This England team at most is a 60 min team. Against the Boks that just won't cut it

It's better than the alternative knowing what is going to happen. Especially looking at the experimental squads the Boks put up against the Wallabies in the RC, not using their best team. That same Wallabies beat them last week.

Now the Boks isn't using an experimental squad. They put out as close to the strongest team the Boks have available at the moment. That must scare the pants off of them. If an experimental squad can destroy the Wallabies, what would the strongest team be able to do to the English?

Instead of sinking into dispear, they prefer to hope that their players can match the Boks. Even though they know what is coming. The English are scared and they won't show it.

Now imagine how Wales must feel knowing they are up next weekend? They don't even have the dubious record of at least close losses like the English. It's a complete nightmare for these 2 countries and rightly so.

The Boks usually take the pedal of the medal post WC's, but not this Bok team. They are better than the WC winning Boks of both '19 and '23. They are stronger up front. They are faster at the back. They can hit front and back. In broken play they are the most dangerous team. They have the best defence and attack also scoring the most tries.

In a way I feel sorry for both the English and Wales. Only those with blinders on expects a close game. Looking at both teams man to man, strategy to strategy, play to play, they are so outmatched it would be a joke if it wasn't so serious. We need the NH to be strong and we need the gap to become closer in rugby so the game stay exciting because runaway scores sometimes is fun, but it doesn't bring as much joy as a close game won.

12 is an extremely technical and highly physical spot in the modern game, and only small tanks like Aki and Danty and Kerevi and DDA tend to survive AND thrive. JAS is not in that mould and would take much longer than Rieko to adjust.

Remember SBW was a loose forward or lock in League and a 12 in Union. Jospeh was a league back.

The offload ability is not enough to compensate for all the work that has to be done with him there.

12 is one the hardest and most phsycailly demanding spots on the field atm, and I don't see how it really correponds to Joseph's skill-set in the long run...