England will bring energy, speed and X-factor to Boks Test, says Mzwandile Stick
· Citizen
Despite being strong favourites, especially considering the form that England head into the mid-year Tests in after a dismal Six Nations campaign, Springbok assistant coach Mzwandile Stick believes they are an incredibly dangerous outfit.
Both teams will be desperate to get their respective Nations Championship campaigns off to the best possible start at Ellis Park on Saturday evening (kick-off 5:40pm), and England will have added motivation after their poor performance in the Northern Hemisphere’s premier competition.
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Stick says that with many players being rewarded for their franchise form, and with a large number of England’s players coming from the Premiership title-winning Northampton Saints team, they will be heading into the match with plenty of confidence.
“If you look at them rewarding performances from their club players, and a guy like Fin Smith at 10 ahead of an experienced player like George Ford, they’ll bring a lot of energy. Their backline has players with massive speed and an X-factor, so those players will bring it,” explained Stick.
“That said, we’ve also prepared well, and we know it’s going to be a tough game. Matches between us mainly start up front, and England take pride in how they operate there.
“So we’ll make sure we get our boys ready because it’s going to be a massive Test. They also have a strong kicking game, so it will be a challenge, but we’ll be prepared.”
All-round England
Stick said that they have an all-round game plan without many weaknesses, and that the Boks would have to be at the top of their game if they are to get their season off to the perfect start with a strong win.
“They can kick the ball, and they are strong in the contestable game, while they have Smith, who can attack, and backs who have shown they can run,” said Stick.
“I also have no doubt they would have worked on their set pieces as well because they’ve always been strong there.”
Following this weekend’s match the Boks go on to play Scotland at Loftus Versfeld and Wales at Kings Park in Durban over the following two weekends, while England head back home to face Fiji followed by a trip to Argentina to face Los Pumas.
The second half of the Nations Championship will then take place in November with the Northern Hemisphere teams hosting the next three rounds of games, before a placings weekend of action.