England hero may have given South Africa the ammo they need to demolish Borthwick’s side

“I believe South Africa aren’t as fit as England, even with their replacements,” stated Woodward. “The Springboks want to make the game slower wherever possible. They alternate sides, and their backstage staff is continually delivering water onto the pitch.

England must respond to that. England needs to pick up the pace when South Africa tries to calm things down. Get the ball out at scrums and line-outs.

Woodward continued, “The Boks rely on playing the game on their terms. France fell into a trap against South Africa in the quarterfinals last weekend. In the second part of their quarterfinal, France were unrecognizable.

They were dragged into South Africa’s game plan and found it impossible to inject the pace they love.

“Whatever happens, it’s important that England not lose control. The important thing is that they remain in the contest because these matches are frequently very close.

When the two teams play one other this weekend, it is yet to be seen if Woodward’s pre-match criticism of South Africa would come back to harm England. Although the Springboks are unlikely to require any additional motivation against the team they easily defeated in the 2019 final, it might provide them the ideal team talk to get them pumped up before the game.

Rassie Erasmus, the director of rugby for the Springboks, started the psychological games earlier this week when he said that England’s more seasoned players will have ‘beef’ to settle following their previous setback in Japan four years prior.

“They have so many experienced players that played against us last time,” he stated. “I believe they will have some animosity toward us because they played us in the World Cup final. They will undoubtedly step it up during all designated phases, and I predict they’ll be pretty physical.